2007年VOA标准英语-Chirac Leaves Mixed Legacy After 12 Years as Fr

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
09 May 2007

Outgoing French President Jacques Chirac leaves office in May 17, making way for center-right politician Nicholas Sarkozy, who defeated socialist¹ Segolene Royal for France's highest office. In this report from Washington, Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at Chirac's political career and his legacy².  

Jacques Chirac delivers speech at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 4 Jan 2007

Center-rightist Jacques Chirac, 74, has been a potent³ force in French politics for more than four decades.

Inspired by General Charles de Gaulle to enter politics, he was elected in the mid-1960s to the National Assembly from the rural constituency of Correze. He first entered government in 1967 when then-prime minister Georges Pompidou named him a junior minister.

Mr. Chirac was prime minister twice, once for two years under president Valery Giscard d'Estaing and then during the presidency⁴ of socialist Francois Mitterrand. Those were the uneasy years of the so-called "cohabitation" between a center-left president and a center-right prime minister. That experiment also lasted for two years. 

Mr. Chirac was also mayor of Paris for 18 years, from 1977 to 1995. During that time, he was tainted⁵ by a corruption⁶ scandal involving party financing and personal expenses. But he was never charged with any wrongdoing.

On his third try at the presidency, he was elected to France's highest office in 1995, then again in 2002. He did not stand for a third term, and with the election just a few days ago of a new French President, another center-right politician Nicholas Sarkozy, Mr. Chirac will leave the Elysee Palace May 17.

Charles Kupchan, a Europe expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, says Sarkozy's win brings about the retirement⁷ of a World War II generation of French leaders.

"And those French leaders, whether neo-Gaullists like Chirac or socialists⁸ like Mitterrand, tended to carry the mantle⁹ of Gaullism, which was a strong French role in the world, a strong Europe that would stand up to the United States," said Kupchan.

In foreign policy, experts say Mr. Chirac will best be remembered for his strong opposition¹⁰ to the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Relations between Washington and Paris remain tense as a result of the diverging¹¹ views on Iraq. But analysts¹³ say Sarkozy, openly pro-American, will begin to mend fences between the old allies.

In the Middle East, Mr. Chirac tried to reassert French influence especially in Syria and Lebanon, its former colonies. And in Africa, he attempted to mend relations with its former territories.

Simon Serfaty, an expert on Europe at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says throughout his political life, Mr. Chirac took courageous¹⁴ positions.

"For example, within a few months of his election, he - at long last - acknowledged the responsibility of the French state during World War II in attending to the persecution¹⁵ of the Jewish populace and sought national forgiveness for it," explained Serfaty.  "This is a man who refused to go to South Africa under any circumstances so long as apartheid would not be abolished."

Analysts say one of Mr. Chirac's greatest setbacks in the foreign policy realm came in 2005, when he was unable to convince the French to vote in favor of a constitution for Europe. And on the domestic front, throughout his presidency, Mr. Chirac was unable to put through major economic and social reforms.

Charles Kupchan says despite those reversals, Mr. Chirac's achievements are probably more significant than he is now getting credit for.

"He has, in some ways, been a lame¹⁶ duck president ever since the 'no' vote in 2005 on the constitution," he added.  "And then his government was also dealt a blow when [Dominique] de Villepin, the prime minister, tried to implement¹⁷ a revision of the labor¹⁸ law and people took to the streets and blocked it.

"But, overall, during the last decade plus, he has guided French policy reasonably well," he added. "It turns out that his position on Iraq has proven to be more true than the position that was articulated by proponents¹⁹ of the war. The French economy, even though it [has] been somewhat sluggish²⁰ with unemployment tenaciously²¹ hovering²² around 10 percent, has made some gains under his presidency. So I would say that even though his reputation right now has been lagging, it has been a pretty impressive run."

Many analysts say new French president Nicholas Sarkozy will focus his attention first on domestic concerns: economic and social reforms. Only then will he turn his attention to international affairs, which were, in the words of one analyst¹², "virtually ignored" during the presidential campaign.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

9 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 diverging   

分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。
• With member-country bond yields now diverging, 'it's a fragmented set of markets. 但随着成员国债券收益率之差扩大，市场已经分割开来。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

15 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

16 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

20 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

21 tenaciously   

坚持地

参考例句：

• Though seriously ill, he still clings tenaciously to life. 他虽病得很重，但仍顽强地活下去。 来自辞典例句
• It was apparently more tenaciously held to surface than fraction three. 它比级分三更顽强地保持在表面上。 来自辞典例句

22 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。