萨科齐成法国史上最不受欢迎总统

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 François 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 Château 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.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

法国将于下周举行首轮总统大选，而就在上周日的一项民意调查中，现任总统尼古拉-萨科奇被评为法国历史上最不受欢迎的总统。两位支持率领先的总统候选人正在巴黎举行大规模竞选集会，发表露天演讲，竞争选民。

法国巴黎协和广场变成红色、白色和蓝色的海洋。萨科奇请求法国“沉默的大多数”挫败有关他将在5月6日的总统大选决战中被社会党竞争对手弗朗索瓦•奥朗德打败的预测。

萨科奇对人群说：“他们说你们不会来。”萨科奇的阵营估计有15万人到场，但看上去连一半都不到。

他说：“沉默的法国民众已经通过你们的到场给出了回应。”他的此次演讲主要针对右翼传统主义者，右翼传统主义者攻击多元文化、教育工会、平权法案、欧洲的开放边境政策，同时捍卫家庭权力和辛苦劳动所得。

而就在东面五英里远，气氛却犹如节日一般，奥朗德在温森城堡前告诉自己的集会队伍，24年来的首次社会党总统选举胜利已经稳操胜券。

这位领先候选人对面前形形色色的人群说：“没有什么能阻止我们。”他的竞选阵营称有10万人到场，其中包括法国歌星和艺术家。

他说：“我将成为公平正义的总统，在采取任何行动之前，我都会问自己，‘这样公平吗？’”

“我们已经等了太久，已经当了10年反对党，我们有责任胜出。”

在短期上升后，最新民调结果显示，萨科奇胜选机会渺茫，下周日首轮选举的支持率稍落后于奥朗德，而在两周后的第二轮选举中支持率则低出14个百分点。

Vocabulary:

trounce: 挫败，责骂

run-off: 决赛，决胜选举

put at: 估计为

affirmative action: 平权法案，平权行动

guillotine: 断头台，截止辩论以付表决法