Nicolas Sarkozy warned French voters last Thursday they should re-elect him as president to pursue his cost-cutting plans or face the kind of debt crises that have gripped Greece and Spain.
Sarkozy said France faced a “historic choice” between his austerity measures or a disastrous return to uncontrolled spending.
“Certain countries in Europe are today on the edge of a precipice,” he warned, promising that under his continued leadership France could rediscover “competitiveness, innovation, investment, reduced spending.”
Spain’s budget minister admitted this week that Madrid is in a “critical situation” as government debt and unemployment surge higher — mirroring the problems that led Greece to seek an EU and IMF bailout last year.
Polls put the frontrunners neck-and-neck in the first round, but forecast Hollande will win the May 6 run-off, ending the Socialists’ 17-year losing streak.
(Liberty Times)
尼可拉．薩科茲上週四警告，法國選民應該再把票投給他，讓他連任總統，繼續減支計畫，否則就會面臨緊纏希臘與西班牙的債務危機。
薩科茲說法國面對的是「具歷史意義的選擇」，要不接受他的撙節措施，否則就會悲慘地回到開銷不受控制的窘境。
「歐洲好幾個國家現在瀕臨危急的處境」，薩科茲警告，並承諾在他連任的領導下，法國可重新找回「競爭力、創新、投資、減支」。
由於政府債務和失業率飆高，西班牙的預算部長本週承認西班牙已面臨「緊急情況」，這也類似導致希臘去年尋求歐盟與國際貨幣基金紓困的問題。
民調顯示兩位領先者在第一輪投票不分上下，但預料歐蘭德會取得五月六日第二輪投票的勝利，結束社會黨長達十七年的連敗。
（自由時報／翻譯：陳維真）
1. austerity n.
緊縮 (jin3 suo1)
例: Many Portuguese believe that the austerity measures will eventually lead to recovery.
(許多葡萄牙人相信緊縮措施終究會讓經濟走向復甦之路。)
2. precipice n.
處境危急的邊緣 (chu3 jing4 wei2 ji2 de5 bian1 yuan2)
例: How does a racially divided society step back from the precipice of racism to unite as a nation?
(在一個種族分隔的社會下，如何能夠從種族歧視的邊緣，退回一步團結成一個國家？)
3. mirror v.
反映 (fan3 ying45)
例: His own views mirrored those of his followers.
(他的看法反映了追隨者的觀點。)
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