美国国家公共电台 NPR--French unions vow to bring the country to a standstill to protest pension reforms

French unions vow¹ to bring the country to a standstill to protest pension reforms

Transcript²

Unions are upping the ante in ongoing³ strikes against bitterly contested pension reform plans in France, with no prearranged end date and workers set to strike across multiple sectors⁴.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

France is preparing for a ritual there - a massive protest that shuts down the country.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

And that's what labor⁵ unions are attempting to protest President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement⁶ age from 62 to 64. Now, they've held other strikes this year but now plan for an open-ended strike that could last for days. This is a business student in Paris.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: (Speaking French).

MART?NEZ: What she's saying there is, "a day, once in a while, that's fine, but you shouldn't block the economy either, and that's not how we will progress."

INSKEEP: NPR correspondent Eleanor Beardsley is in the streets of Paris. Hey there, Eleanor.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE⁷: Hi, guys.

INSKEEP: Where are you exactly, and what are you seeing?

BEARDSLEY: Well, I'm in the street in the 15th arrondissement, and actually, what I'm seeing is a calmer day than usual. There seems to be less traffic. Almost feels like a normal day, but it's not. With the public transport all but shut down, people are getting to work on bike and foot. And many companies told employees just to work from home today. Now, the big protest marches in Paris and in more than 200 cities across the country start this afternoon, but the chaos⁸ has already begun, really. Many schools are closed, as teachers and students join the protest. Oil refineries⁹ are blocked. And truckers have started blocking roads in what's known as an operation escargot. It means you drive slowly in every lane, block the highway and force the traffic to crawl along at a snail's pace.

INSKEEP: (Laughter) It sounds so much more classy when you say escargot instead of snails¹⁰.

BEARDSLEY: Yes (laughter).

INSKEEP: So how long will this last?

BEARDSLEY: It could last one day, two days, all week or even longer. At the end of the day, the unions will vote to decide whether it continues, but they seem determined¹¹. We think it's going to continue. Here is the head of the hard-line union, the CGT, Philippe Martinez, speaking on the radio. He's talked about the movement going into higher gear. Here he is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PHILIPPE MARTINEZ: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: So basically, he said, the responsibility for this mess is totally the French government's, which is trying to ignore this massive protest movement, and he says, we won't stop until this bill is withdrawn¹² completely.

INSKEEP: Is the government likely to back off on its proposed pension changes?

BEARDSLEY: So far, no. The bill is in the Senate, where it should be approved today. You know, they say that with people living longer, people just have to work a little bit longer to keep the system. It's kind of like our Social Security system. You pay in. People who work pay in for those who are retired¹³. And, you know, they say we have to raise the minimum - it's the minimum retirement age, 62 to 64. Most people retire at 64. But that'll mean that everybody works a little longer. And so, no, this is likely to be a big standoff that goes on.

INSKEEP: Well, I suppose the politicians must be listening to the people and presuming that they have some public support somewhere, even though there's all these people who are going to protest. So do you have a good sense of where the French people really stand on all this?

BEARDSLEY: Well, they elected Macron, and he said he wanted to reform the retirement system. So there's that. And that's what he always says. But actually, a big majority of the French do support this - you know, getting rid of this reform. They say the budget gaps can be filled in other ways, like taxing the super-rich. And they say, actually, the system is not about to collapse¹⁴, and it was - it did have a surplus last year. And more broadly, they say it's the choice of society. They want a society of equality and solidarity¹⁵. Progress doesn't mean working until you keel over. So the people I've been talking to, 59% of the French actually want to see the economy paralyzed to get rid of this reform bill.

INSKEEP: Wow. Just very briefly¹⁶, just to clarify, most people voted for Macron, who said he wanted to reform the system, but most people oppose the reforms, right?

BEARDSLEY: Yes, because there's the government, and then there's the street in France.

INSKEEP: OK, that's democracy. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

1 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 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。

7 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。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

10 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

15 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

16 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。