Macron's nightmare

马克龙的噩梦

（象征法国的Marianne雕像在冲突中被毁）

The Economist 12.08   

The French president's problems are more to do with presentation than policy

选段一  

Extract One

It is a long way down from Mount Olympus. Last year Emmanuel Macron strode into power with a mandate to reform France. This week France looked unreformable. The streets of Paris have been littered with burned-out cars and glass from smashed shop windows. Parts of the countryside are paralysed, as protesters in high-visibility yellow jackets obstruct roads and blockade fuel depots. Policy u-turns are making Mr Macron look as weak as all his recent predecessors who tried to change this most stubborn of nations. The man who once promised a “Jupiterian” presidency is looking decidedly mortal.

It is a long way down from Mount Olympus.

直译是从奥利匹克山下来有很长的一段路

这里的Mount Olympus呼应后面的Jupiterian

有点像中文说的“走下神坛”的感觉

暗示马克龙从前被捧在神坛，备受追捧

stride into power

直译是大步走向权利巅峰

stride这个动词很有画面感

简单一个动词勾画出他竞选时顺风顺水、昂扬当选的画面，好不风光

mandate

the authority to do sth, given to a government or other organization by the people whovote for it in an election经选举而获得的授权  

the mandate to do sth. / for sth.

人民支持马克龙改革才选举他的，所以他的改革是获得了法国人民的授权的

U-turn

彻底转变（政策/观念/计划等）

U-turn原指U型转弯，即180转弯

后引申为彻底转变之意

Jupiterian

a person that has a well-developed Mount of Jupiter and a long and large finger of Jupiter and that is usually held by palmists to be characterized by ambition, leadership, and a religious nature（merriam-webster词典）

西方看手相的人把Mount of Jupiter和finger of Jupiter长的好的人称为Jupiterian，这种手相的人也通常被认为有雄心，有领导能力。所以Jupiterian其实指的是有远大志向有领导力的

马克龙原本是雄心勃勃的，认为自己任期会好好大干一场，所以文中说他once promised a “Jupiterian” presidency

（Mount of Jupiter）   （finger of Jupiter其实就是食指）

选段二

Extract Two

When this new party, a band of political newcomers powered by social media, won a thumping parliamentary majority, the Macron revolution seemed unstoppable. He swiftly passed long-needed reforms to make the labour market more flexible, working with moderate unions and facing down obstreperous ones. His education reforms offered smaller classes in poor areas and greater citizens’ control over training. The budget was knocked into shape, meeting the Maastricht deficit limit of 3% of gdp for the first time since 2007.

win a thumping parliamentary majority

在议会获得压倒性胜利

thumping本身是「巨大的；极大的」

既可以是win a thumping majority，压倒性胜利

也可是a thumping defeat，惨败

face down

to deal in a strong and confident way sith someone who opposes you 

压倒，挫败，慑服（用坚定和自信的方式）

比如警察压制暴民就是face down the mobs

且这篇后半部分又一次出现了face down：

Even Vladimir Putin did not have the courage to face down Russian pensioners this year.

obstreperous [əbˈstrɛp(ə)rəs]

noisy and difficult to control

喧闹的；桀骜不驯的；任性的

obstreperous是个正式和带点幽默色彩的词

看完英文释义瞬间想到了熊孩子呢

knock... into shape

to take action to get sth or sb into the good condition that you would like

使...像样

比如knock the economy into shape就经常出现在新闻中

选段三

Extract Three

Mr Macron will now be banking that his decision, on December 5th, to cancel the diesel tax rises “for the year of 2019”, will take the heat out of the conflict. This seems unlikely; for a start, the protests have in part now been hijacked by thuggish extremists with an interest in the violent overthrow of capitalism. Many of even the moderate gilets jaunes are demanding Mr Macron’s resignation, or a new parliament. And an earlier diesel tax rise which went into effect last January, has not (yet) been reversed.

bank

v. 指望；依靠 [熟词僻义]

通常是bank on sb/sth，类似count on

take the heat out of the conflict

缓和冲突

take the heat out of是比喻用法，简单又形象

thuggish

暴力的，野蛮的

SYN violent / barbaric / savage / brutal

gilets jaunes

黄背心，也就是参与这次抗议示威的人

选段四

Extract Four

The government’s reaction could backfire horribly. It may not be enough to draw the sting from the protests. But, by giving ground at all, it may show that Mr Macron can be pushed around by mobs on the streets, thus encouraging more mobs to form. There is pressure on Mr Macron to bring back the wealth tax; and further reform now looks much less likely than it did. Yet there is plenty of hard work still to do; the next overdue project that Mr Macron plans to tackle is France’s unaffordable pension system.

backfire

v. 产生事与愿违的后果；适得其反

本意是发动机逆火

引申为适得其反，事与愿违，背道而驰，引火烧身等义（以上四字格的翻译get）

draw the sting from

字面意思是把刺拉从...出来

引申为减少对...的伤害，可译为“安抚”

回顾

Review

stride into power

mandate

U-turn

Jupiterian

win a thumping parliamentary majority

face down

obstreperous

knock into shape

bank

take the heat out of the conflict

thuggish

gilets jaunes

backfire

draw the sting from

笔记 | Suzy  

文章来源 | 《经济学人》12.08

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