VOA慢速英语2015 法国反移民政党获得更多支持

AS IT IS 2015-02-13 Anti-Immigration Party Gains Strength in France 法国反移民政党获得更多支持

The terrorist¹ attacks in Paris have increased tensions² in France between French citizens and immigrants³. The anti-immigration National Front party says the attacks prove what it has been warning about -- that France is being attacked by radical⁴ Islamists. Party leaders say France must stop letting people from other countries immigrate⁵.

VOA went to the French town of Bagnolet to learn why some voters are supporting The Front.

Alain Barre does not oppose immigration. His own wife is from Cuba. He believes European immigrants have made France a better country. But he says the most-recent immigrants are hurting the country’s economy and threatening its stability⁶.

Mr. Barre lives in Bagnolet, a town separated from Paris by only a busy road. Communists controlled the town for many years. Now, Socialists⁸ do.

Mr. Barre supports The National Front. He believes Islam threatens France. And, he says, increasingly⁹ so do his friends.

“They tell me if we are not reacting between (in) a few years it will be civil war in France.”

The National Front believes as Mr. Barre does. After the attacks in January the party printed a poster that shows jihadist fighters and the map of France with the words: “Islamist peril¹⁰: Let’s Protect the French.”

National Front leader Marine¹¹ Le Pen says that the party has been warning about the dangers of Islamist fundamentalism for years. Even today, she says, politicians do not offer what she believes are the correct solutions: end immigration and close the country’s borders.

The Front was founded in the 1970s. Few voters have supported it since its founding, and its members have had little success in campaigns for political office. But that has been changing recently. Last May it received 25 percent of the votes in European Union elections¹². Still, few French people will publicly admit that they support the party.

Even after the attacks, The Front stayed apart from other political parties. Its leaders did not join a huge march in Paris that followed the attacks. Its members gathered separately in another place.

Support for the country’s unpopular president, Francois Hollande, has doubled since the attack. But political experts say that support will soon return to its low level. They believe that as time passes, more people will ask questions about security¹³ and radical Islam.

Sociologist¹⁴ Michel Wieviorka says that is when voters will decide to support The Front’s strong security and anti-immigration message.

“People will say ‘The Left is unable to change (things). The Right is unable to change (things). So let us try something else. Let’s try Marine Le Pen.’”

The country’s economic condition is still poor, and many people are jobless. The ruling Socialist⁷ party has struggled to answer the concerns of the French people. And public opinion studies show The Front is gaining support. A new study shows Ms. Le Pen would win the first round of presidential elections in 2017 if they were held today, but would lose in the second.

The Front even seems to be gaining support in towns like Bagnolet, which have high numbers of immigrants.

Herve Atlan is a pharmacist in the town. He is also worried about how his country is changing. He says he bought food at the grocery store in Paris that was attacked last month by an Islamist. His children attend a Jewish¹⁵ school nearby.

Mr. Atlan says the government promises to protect Jews like himself, but does not take action. But he says The National Front is not the solution. He says in the past, The Front was considered anti-Semitic, although Marine Le Pen has sought the votes of Jews in recent years.

Aouahid Tamin and Tahar Azoula are French Muslims. They were born here. Their parents came from North Africa. They are looking for work. They say it is hard to find a job, and their Muslim names make it harder.

Mr. Tamin says he does not support any political party, but he might vote for Marine Le Pen.

He says she supports people with blond¹⁶ hair and blue eyes. But he says we support her for saying what she believes and for not lying about her beliefs.

The Front’s message will be tested next month, when local elections take place. A recent public opinion study showed 26 percent of expected voters would support the party. Mr. Barre says he is sure The Front will get many votes in Bagnolet because the French people want change.

Words in This Story

immigrant(s) – n. a person who comes to a country to live there

immigrate – v. to come to a country to live there — often + to

peril – n. the possibility that you will be hurt or killed or that something unpleasant or bad will happen; danger

solution(s) – n. something that is used or done to deal with and end a problem; something that solves a problem

apart – adv. separately from (something)

doubled – v. to cause (something) to become two times as great or as many

pharmacist – n. a person whose job is to prepare and sell the drugs and medicines that a doctor prescribes¹⁷ for patients

anti-Semitic – adj. feeling or showing hatred of Jewish people

1 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

2 tensions   

（情绪上的）紧张( tension的名词复数 )； 张力； 紧张的状态； （作家或电影导演制造的）紧张气氛

参考例句：

• Social tensions were manifested in the recent political crisis. 最近的政治危机显示了社会关系的紧张。
• These disagreements are symptomatic of the tensions within the party. 出现意见分歧表明该党内部的关系紧张。

3 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

6 stability   

n.稳定，稳固

参考例句：

• The situation is tending towards stability.局势趋于稳定。
• She lacks emotional stability.她的情绪不稳定。

7 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

8 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

9 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

10 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

11 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。

12 elections   

n.选举，当选，推举( election的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• He emerged victorious in the elections. 他在竞选中脱颖而出获得胜利。

13 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

14 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

15 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

16 blond   

adj.金发的；n.白肤碧眼金发的人

参考例句：

• Her long blond hair spilled down over her shoulders.她那淡黄色的长发披垂在双肩。
• This blond man delivers newspaper every morning.这个白肤金发碧眼的男人每天早晨送报纸。

17 prescribes   

开药方( prescribe的第三人称单数 )； 指示； 规定； 指定遵守

参考例句：

• The law prescribes how to punish this crime. 法律对如何处罚这种犯罪做出规定。
• Section 301(b)(2) prescribes BAT effluent limitations for "nonconventional" and toxic pollutants. 第201条（b）（2）中，针对“非常规”和有毒污染物规定了“最佳现有技术”污水限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法