2018-12-18
#法國#
今日導讀
聖誕將至，但此時的法國人都在擔心周六的到來，因為巴黎的「黃背心」抗議活動已經連續進行了四周，舉國上下人心惶惶。在接連幾個周六進行的示威遊行中，香榭麗舍大街成了衝突的前線，地標建築凱旋門慘遭破壞，「黃馬甲」運動也一度成為全球關注的焦點。究竟是什麼讓法國人穿上黃色馬甲走上街頭，他們又為何憤怒？
新聞正文
Why are the 'yellow vests' still protesting in France? His name is Macron
Act Four in the weekly "yellow vest" protests unfolded Saturday in Paris amid a now-familiar backdrop of tear gas and chants, but also brought further clarity on where the rage is headed: directly at President Emmanuel Macron.
What began as opposition against a carbon tax designed to curb climate change has morphed into a working-class revolt against Macron, who now faces the first major test of his presidency and whose approval ratings have plummeted to personal all-time lows.
Chants of "Macron resign!" echoed along the grand Champs Élysées on Saturday as protesters decried him as the "president of the rich" who has ignored struggling regions around the country.
Remarkably, some of those in the crowd had backed Macron's improbable campaign in 2017. But they now say they feel betrayed by an agenda they see as merely concerned with protecting the economic interests of the elite.
The movement—whose name is taken from the trademark high-visibility yellow vests—has since come to represent a deeply rooted social anger that has more to do with the personality of Macron than it does with any particular policy.
Most protesters tend to be white and many from the provinces — sharing anxiety over dwindling purchasing power and what they see as Macron's aloof style.
Catherine Van Mikel, 66, a retired clerk at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, noted that she had proudly voted for Macron in 2017. "I feel genuinely deceived, " she said, standing toward the back, far from the jeering crowds.
"There's a real arrogance to him, " she said of Macron. "I have never seen a president like that."
新聞講解
Why are the 'yellow vests' still protesting in France? His name is Macron
法國「黃馬甲」為何仍在抗議？答案直指總統馬克龍
Act Four in the weekly "yellow vest" protests unfolded Saturday in Paris amid a now-familiar backdrop of tear gas and chants, but also brought further clarity on where the rage is headed: directly at President Emmanuel Macron.
周六，在一片熟悉的催淚瓦斯和呼喊聲的背景下，第四波「黃馬甲」抗議活動在巴黎拉開序幕（這一示威行動每周舉行），但也讓這些民憤的指向更為清晰了——怒火直指總統埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍。
act (歌劇、話劇之中的）一幕
act four 第四幕；第四波
backdrop 事態；背景
a love story set against a backdrop of the war 戰爭背景下的愛情故事
tear gas 催淚瓦斯；催淚彈
chants 反覆呼喊的話語
football chants 足球場上的呼喊聲
bring clarity on sth. 使某事變得清晰
What began as opposition against a carbon tax designed to curb climate change has morphed into a working-class revolt against Macron, who now faces the first major test of his presidency and whose approval ratings have plummeted to personal all-time lows.
這場抗議本來是因為反對碳稅而開始的，而收取碳稅是為了控制氣候變化；後來抗議轉變為一場工人階級針對馬克龍的起義。馬克龍現在面臨著他總統任期內第一個重大考驗，他的支持率也跌到個人歷史新低。
Chants of "Macron resign!" echoed along the grand Champs Élysées on Saturday as protesters decried him as the "president of the rich" who has ignored struggling regions around the country.
周六，「馬克龍辭職！」這一口號迴蕩在壯麗的香榭麗舍大街上。抗議者譴責馬克龍是「有錢人的總統」，指責他忽視了這個國家還在掙扎謀生的那些地區。
curb:control or limit sth. 控制（不好的事）
curb my temper 控制自己的脾氣
curb inflation 控制通貨膨脹
morphe into 變化：特指圖像的變化，有一種緩慢的觀感
revolt:a protest against authority 反抗；起義
presidency（總統的）任期
plummeted:to suddenly and quickly decrease 暴跌、驟然跌落
house prices has plummeted down 房價暴跌
low n.低谷
high n.高峰
the highs and lows of my life 生活的起起落落
echo 回音；共鳴
her words found an echo and host of many of the audiences 她的話引起許多觀眾的共鳴
decry：to strongly criticize sb. or sth. especially publicly 公開譴責某人
Remarkably, some of those in the crowd had backed Macron's improbable campaign in 2017. But they now say they feel betrayed by an agenda they see as merely concerned with protecting the economic interests of the elite.
值得注意的一點是，部分抗議者在 2017 年那場出乎預料的選舉中曾支持過馬克龍。但現在，他們認為自己被他的政治議程所背叛。在他們看來，這個議程旨在保護上層階級的經濟利益。
The movement—whose name is taken from the trademark high-visibility yellow vests—has since come to represent a deeply rooted social anger that has more to do with the personality of Macron than it does with any particular policy.
這場運動的名字來自於黃色馬甲這個標誌性的顯眼形象。事件發生後，它開始代表一種根深蒂固的社會層面的憤怒，而這種憤怒更多是關於馬克龍的人格而不是其他任何具體的政策。
improbable:unexpected 出人意料的
agenda:a plan of things to be done 要解決某件事的計劃 ；議會、議程
for the goverment education is now at the top of the agenda
教育現在是政府的頭等計劃
see:to have an opinion of sth. v.認為、看待
elite 精英；上層人士
TM=trademark 商標、牌號；特徵、標記
have come to do sth. 終於到了某事發生所需要的狀態
deeply rooted 根深蒂固的
Most protesters tend to be white and many from the provinces—sharing anxiety over dwindling purchasing power and what they see as Macron's aloof style.
大多數抗議者是白人，且很多人來自外省。他們共同的焦慮在於下降的購買力，和他們眼中馬克龍冷漠的作風。
Catherine Van Mikel, 66, a retired clerk at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, noted that she had proudly voted for Macron in 2017. "I feel genuinely deceived," she said, standing toward the back, far from the jeering crowds.
66 歲的凱薩琳·凡·米克爾是巴黎老佛爺百貨公司的退休櫃員，她表示自己曾在 2017 年驕傲地給馬克龍投過票。她遠遠站在起鬨的人群後面，說道：「我真的感覺被騙了。」
"There's a real arrogance to him," she said of Macron. "I have never seen a president like that."
她評價馬克龍說：「他真的很傲慢，我從沒見過這樣的總統。」
province 省市
the provinces 首都以外的省會
dwindle 逐漸下降的
dwindle away to nothing 不復存在
aloof:not friendly or interest other people 冷漠的、疏離的
genuinely 真實的、真心地
jeer 大聲奚落、嘲弄
jeering crowds 起鬨的人群
————— 文章來源 / 華盛頓郵報
拓展內容
馬克龍對抗議活動第一次做出正式回應
法國「黃馬甲運動」已經持續月餘，沉默良久的法國總統馬克龍終於公開表態。當地時間 12 月 10 日晚，他向全國民眾發表電視講話，稱法國目前處於經濟和社會緊急狀態，同時宣布了一系列增加福利的措施，包括上調最低工資標準，對加班費、年終獎免予徵稅等等。
馬克龍稱，此次示威抗議不只是針對上調碳稅，其根本原因是一些長期存在的、更深層的憤怒。他同時承認，自己就職以來的一些言論傷害了部分民眾，也沒能對民眾的呼聲積極回應，應該承擔責任。
從法國電視臺對部分抗議者的採訪中可以看到，馬克龍的講話似乎收效甚微，許多人認為他的表態「來得太少，來得太晚」。據 BBC 最新民調顯示，馬克龍的支持率已由當選時的 66%降到了 23%。
今日問答
Q1：法國民眾為何發起抗議？前三次的反抗內容你了解多少？
Q2：抗議的法國民眾為什麼選擇穿黃背心？
Q3：針對馬克龍總統的政策改革你怎麼看？你支持誰？