File photo of Nicolas Sarkozy. Nicolas Sarkozy was declared the most unpopular president in French history in a damning poll on Sunday. |
Nicolas Sarkozy was declared the most unpopular president in French history in a damning poll on Sunday ahead of the first round of the presidential elections next week, as the two leading candidates vied to rally voters in mass, open-air speeches in Paris. The capital's Place de la Concorde was transformed into a sea of red, white and blue, as Mr Sarkozy implored France's "silent majority" to confound forecasts that he will be trounced by Socialist rival Fran?ois Hollande in the presidential run-off on May 6. "They said you wouldn't come," Mr Sarkozy told a crowd his camp put at 150,000 but which appeared to be less than half that size. "Silent France has responded through your presence," he said, in a speech aimed at Right-wing traditionalists that attacked multiculturalism, teaching unions, affirmative action and Europe's open borders while defending families and hard work. Five miles to the East, the ambience was markedly festive as Mr Hollande told his troops before the Chateau de Vincennes that the first Socialist presidential victory in 24 years was now within their grasp. "Nothing is going to stop us," the front-runner told a diverse crowd his camp put at 100,000, and which included several French singers and artists. "I will be a president of justice. Before taking any decision, I will ask myself: 'Is this fair?'" "We have waited too long – 10 years in opposition. We have a duty to win." After a brief surge, the latest polls suggest Mr Sarkozy is heading for the electoral guillotine – tipped to trail Mr Hollande narrowly in the first round of the election next Sunday, only to lose the second round two weeks later by up to 14 percentage points. (Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
法國(guó)將于下周舉行首輪總統(tǒng)大選,而就在上周日的一項(xiàng)民意調(diào)查中,現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)尼古拉-薩科奇被評(píng)為法國(guó)歷史上最不受歡迎的總統(tǒng)。兩位支持率領(lǐng)先的總統(tǒng)候選人正在巴黎舉行大規(guī)模競(jìng)選集會(huì),發(fā)表露天演講,競(jìng)爭(zhēng)選民。 法國(guó)巴黎協(xié)和廣場(chǎng)變成紅色、白色和藍(lán)色的海洋。薩科奇請(qǐng)求法國(guó)“沉默的大多數(shù)”挫敗有關(guān)他將在5月6日的總統(tǒng)大選決戰(zhàn)中被社會(huì)黨競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手弗朗索瓦?奧朗德打敗的預(yù)測(cè)。 薩科奇對(duì)人群說(shuō):“他們說(shuō)你們不會(huì)來(lái)?!彼_科奇的陣營(yíng)估計(jì)有15萬(wàn)人到場(chǎng),但看上去連一半都不到。 他說(shuō):“沉默的法國(guó)民眾已經(jīng)通過(guò)你們的到場(chǎng)給出了回應(yīng)?!彼拇舜窝葜v主要針對(duì)右翼傳統(tǒng)主義者,右翼傳統(tǒng)主義者攻擊多元文化、教育工會(huì)、平權(quán)法案、歐洲的開放邊境政策,同時(shí)捍衛(wèi)家庭權(quán)力和辛苦勞動(dòng)所得。 而就在東面五英里遠(yuǎn),氣氛卻猶如節(jié)日一般,奧朗德在溫森城堡前告訴自己的集會(huì)隊(duì)伍,24年來(lái)的首次社會(huì)黨總統(tǒng)選舉勝利已經(jīng)穩(wěn)操勝券。 這位領(lǐng)先候選人對(duì)面前形形色色的人群說(shuō):“沒(méi)有什么能阻止我們。”他的競(jìng)選陣營(yíng)稱有10萬(wàn)人到場(chǎng),其中包括法國(guó)歌星和藝術(shù)家。 他說(shuō):“我將成為公平正義的總統(tǒng),在采取任何行動(dòng)之前,我都會(huì)問(wèn)自己,‘這樣公平嗎?’” “我們已經(jīng)等了太久,已經(jīng)當(dāng)了10年反對(duì)黨,我們有責(zé)任勝出?!?/p> 在短期上升后,最新民調(diào)結(jié)果顯示,薩科奇勝選機(jī)會(huì)渺茫,下周日首輪選舉的支持率稍落后于奧朗德,而在兩周后的第二輪選舉中支持率則低出14個(gè)百分點(diǎn)。 相關(guān)閱讀 法國(guó)“第一千金”首露面 或?yàn)楦高B任做貢獻(xiàn) (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: trounce: 挫敗,責(zé)罵 run-off: 決賽,決勝選舉 put at: 估計(jì)為 affirmative action: 平權(quán)法案,平權(quán)行動(dòng) guillotine: 斷頭臺(tái),截止辯論以付表決法 |