The French are divided over the country's airtime equality law for candidates

The French are divided over the country's airtime equality law for candidates

Transcript¹

In France, 12 presidential candidates are set to face off Sunday in the first round of the presidential election. And thanks to French election law, they all get equal time on the airwaves.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

French voters go to the polls Sunday for the first round of their presidential election. The top two vote-getters will then face each other in a runoff two weeks later. There are 12 candidates going into the first round, from incumbent² President Emmanuel Macron to tiny fringe party contenders. And thanks to French election law, they all get the same amount of media airtime. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is in Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking French).

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE³: This week, public channel France 2 held election coverage⁴ in front of a live audience. A clock kept track of each candidate's speaking time. There was Emmanuel Macron.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: And there was third-time presidential contender Nathalie Arthaud, head of the Workers' Struggle Party, one of two Trotskyists in the race.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NATHALIE ARTHAUD: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: "My adversary⁵ is the capitalist class, which is blocking all progress and possibility in society," she told her interviewers. "I was so shocked how patents kept the vaccines⁶ from being given to poor countries." Arthaud explained how her plan of zero unemployment could be achieved by sharing jobs and paying for it through the profits and dividends⁷ of the richest companies.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ARTHAUD: (Speaking French).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: When Arthaud goes a couple seconds over her time, a gong goes off.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ARTHAUD: (Speaking French).

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

BEARDSLEY: Gilles Finchelstein is director of the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a think tank that studies societal trends. He doesn't think France's audiovisual equality law does what it's supposed to.

GILLES FINCHELSTEIN: (Through interpreter) The paradox⁸ of the law is when we're getting closer to the election, the campaign basically disappears from TV for a simple reason. A channel cannot, for example, afford to air the campaign rally of someone like Emmanuel Macron, because if there's an hour of Macron, they have to give every other candidate an hour.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEAN LASSALLE: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: Rural candidate Jean Lassalle filmed his own campaign ad this time around. The 6-foot-3 eccentric son of sheepherders from the Pyrenees has become a kind of folk hero thanks to his presidential bids. I meet art consultant⁹ Constance Perret walking through a Paris market. She thinks the on-air equality law is a good thing.

CONSTANCE PERRET: I think if we didn't have this rule, I would never listen to Nathalie Arthaud or Jean Lassalle, who is kind of crazy. But when you have to listen to them for 10 minutes in the morning and the radio, you're kind of like, OK, capitalism¹⁰ is going too far. I guess she has a point, or he has a point. I think it's nice. It's nice for them to have a voice.

BEARDSLEY: Perret says Lassalle may never become president, but he's highlighted important rural issues and was once voted the candidate most French people want to have a drink with. Polls show this presidential race, which will be decided¹¹ on April 24, could be a rematch between Emmanuel Macron, who currently has support from 52% of voters, and right-wing standard-bearer Marine¹² Le Pen, who has managed to improve her image, appearing more mainstream¹³ now and is closing in on Macron with 47% of voters' support, with just three weeks to go.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

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 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

3 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。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

8 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

10 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 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。

13 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。