French voters go to the polls in 4 days to choose between Macron or Le Pen

French voters go to the polls in 4 days to choose between Macron or Le Pen

Transcript¹

A lot has changed in the five years since French President Macron met far-right candidate Marine² Le Pen in a contentious³ debate. Ahead of the runoff, the two will debate on Wednesday.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Tonight, French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen, meet for a rematch of their contentious 2017 presidential debate. French voters go to the polls in just four days to choose between the two candidates for the second time. But as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, much has changed in five years.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in French).

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE⁴: Fired-up supporters of Marine Le Pen know their candidate has a real chance this time. She's run a strong campaign and moderated her image. Nonna Mayer, an expert of the far right, says Le Pen has completely changed the image of the National Rally party since taking over from her father in 2011.

NONNA MAYER: She has given a new electoral dynamic to the party because she's a woman and she has managed to speak to and to rally female voters, which were repulsed⁵ by the father.

BEARDSLEY: Mayer says Le Pen's mission to detoxify the party is working.

MAYER: Showing - saying, we are not anti-Semitic. We are not racist⁶. We are defending France. We are defending the rights of women, of gays, of Jews against the terrible threat that is radical⁷ Islam.

BEARDSLEY: Le Pen got more help from further-right candidate Eric Zemmour.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ERIC ZEMMOUR: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: His xenophobic tirades⁸ made Le Pen look even more mainstream⁹. Le Pen supporter Mylene Chabert says she couldn't convince a single relation to vote Le Pen last time. This year, her whole family supports Marine.

MYLENE CHABERT: She has learn for the mistake she made, I think, with Macron, with the debat (ph) when they speak together. And it's five years - she work, work, work. And I think she understand she go direct to the people.

BEARDSLEY: Chabert is referring to the 2017 second-round debate that was a disaster for Le Pen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French).

MARINE LE PEN: (Speaking French).

MACRON: (Speaking French).

LE PEN: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: She came across as combative¹⁰ and chaotic¹¹ compared with Macron's smooth mastery of every subject. This time around, Macron appeared too occupied with the war in Ukraine to even campaign ahead of the first round. The war did give Macron a boost in the poll, says Martin Quencez with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, but it was brief.

MARTIN QUENCEZ: The electors care about the domestic situation first, and we elect the French president with the intention to have someone to defend French interests.

BEARDSLEY: Macron is just now getting down in the trenches¹² and taking some heat.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: "I've never known a more worthless president than you," one voter told him. There's still bitterness from the working poor revolt known as the yellow vest movement and plenty of anger over the handling of the pandemic. Disgust for a president many see as arrogant¹³ and elitist runs deep in the French heartland. Macron is even backtracking on some of his unpopular positions, like raising the retirement¹⁴ age to attract voters. Analyst¹⁵ Nonna Mayer.

MAYER: He can try and soften¹⁶ his previous positions, but he must be credible¹⁷. And it's so late.

BEARDSLEY: Le Pen, she says, never deflected¹⁸ from the core issues voters care about, like purchasing power and the cost of living.

MAYER: There's the fear of globalization. So she has managed to play on that and to say she was the protector, the defender¹⁹ of the little people, the forgotten ones.

BEARDSLEY: In 2017, Macron beat Le Pen with 66% of the vote. The latest polls show him leading, but with only 55% this time. Both candidates hope to gain points in tonight's highly anticipated face-off, which is expected to draw record television audiences.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 tirades   

激烈的长篇指责或演说( tirade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• What's the matter with Levin today?Why doesn't he launch into one of his tirades? 你所说得话我全记录下来列文今天怎么啦？没有反唇相讥？

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

11 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

12 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

13 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

14 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。

15 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。

16 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

17 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

18 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。

19 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。