Why are the 'yellow vests' still

Act Four in the weekly "yellow vest" protests unfolded Saturday in Paris amid a now-familiar backdrop of tear gas and chants, but also brought further clarity on where the rage is headed: directly at President Emmanuel Macron.

周六，在一片熟悉的催泪瓦斯和呼喊声的背景下，第四波“黄马甲”抗议活动在巴黎拉开序幕（这一示威行动每周举行），但也让这些民愤的指向更为清晰了——怒火直指总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙。

What began as opposition against a carbon tax designed to curb climate change has morphed into a working-class revolt against Macron, who now faces the first major test of his presidency and whose approval ratings have plummeted to personal all-time lows.

这场抗议本来是因为反对碳税而开始的，而收取碳税是为了控制气候变化；后来抗议转变为一场工人阶级针对马克龙的起义。马克龙现在面临着他总统任期内第一个重大考验，他的支持率也跌到个人历史新低。

Chants of "Macron resign!" echoed along the grand Champs Élysées on Saturday as protesters decried him as the "president of the rich" who has ignored struggling regions around the country.

周六，“马克龙辞职！”这一口号回荡在壮丽的香榭丽舍大街上。抗议者谴责马克龙是“有钱人的总统”，指责他忽视了这个国家还在挣扎谋生的那些地区。

Remarkably, some of those in the crowd had backed Macron's improbable campaign in 2017. But they now say they feel betrayed by an agenda they see as merely concerned with protecting the economic interests of the elite.

值得注意的一点是，部分抗议者在 2017 年那场出乎预料的选举中曾支持过马克龙。但现在，他们认为自己被他的政治议程所背叛。在他们看来，这个议程旨在保护上层阶级的经济利益。

The movement—whose name is taken from the trademark high-visibility yellow vests—has since come to represent a deeply rooted social anger that has more to do with the personality of Macron than it does with any particular policy.

这场运动的名字来自于黄色马甲这个标志性的显眼形象。事件发生后，它开始代表一种根深蒂固的社会层面的愤怒，而这种愤怒更多是关于马克龙的人格而不是其他任何具体的政策。

Most protesters tend to be white and many from the provinces—sharing anxiety over dwindling purchasing power and what they see as Macron's aloof style.

大多数抗议者是白人，且很多人来自外省。他们共同的焦虑在于下降的购买力，和他们眼中马克龙冷漠的作风。

Catherine Van Mikel, 66, a retired clerk at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, noted that she had proudly voted for Macron in 2017. "I feel genuinely deceived," she said, standing toward the back, far from the jeering crowds.

66 岁的凯瑟琳·凡·米克尔是巴黎老佛爷百货公司的退休柜员，她表示自己曾在 2017 年骄傲地给马克龙投过票。她远远站在起哄的人群后面，说道：“我真的感觉被骗了。”

"There's a real arrogance to him," she said of Macron. "I have never seen a president like that."

她评价马克龙说：“他真的很傲慢，我从没见过这样的总统。”

—————  文章来源 / 华盛顿邮报

backdrop/ˈbækdrɑːp/
n. 背景
e.g.
a love story set against a backdrop of war
chant/tʃænt/
n. （尤指众人齐喊或合唱的）反复而有节奏的短句
e.g.
football chants
curb/kɜːrb/
v. 控制，约束，抑制
e.g.
to curb my temper
to curb inflation
morph into
变为；变形为
e.g.
If you take the polyjuice potion, you can morph into another person.
revolt/rɪˈvoʊlt/
n. 起义
plummet/ˈplʌmɪt/
v. 暴跌，骤然减少
e.g.
House prices have plummeted down.
echo/ˈekoʊ/
v. 回荡，回响
e.g.
Her words found an echo in the hearts of many of the audience. (n.)
decry/dɪˈkraɪ/
v. （公开）谴责，批评
e.g.
The measures were decried as useless.
improbable/ɪmˈprɑːbəbl/
adj. 始料未及的
agenda/əˈdʒendə/
n. 议程
e.g.
For the government, education is now at the top of the agenda.
trademark/ˈtreɪdmɑːrk/
n. 特征，标记
high-visibility /ˌhaɪ vɪzəˈbɪləti/
n. 高可见度（high-vis、hi-vis）
the provinces
外省，地方（指首都以外的地区）
e.g.
Madame Bovary: provincial customs (adj.)
dwindle/ˈdwɪndl/
v. （逐渐）减少
e.g.
Support for Macron has dwindled away to nothing.
aloof/əˈluːf/
adj. 冷漠的，冷淡的
jeer/dʒɪr/
v. 嘲笑 （jeering adj.）

法国“黄马甲运动”已经持续月余，沉默良久的法国总统马克龙终于公开表态。当地时间 12 月 10 日晚，他向全国民众发表电视讲话，称法国目前处于经济和社会紧急状态，同时宣布了一系列增加福利的措施，包括上调最低工资标准，对加班费、年终奖免予征税等等。

马克龙称，此次示威抗议不只是针对上调碳税，其根本原因是一些长期存在的、更深层的愤怒。他同时承认，自己就职以来的一些言论伤害了部分民众，也没能对民众的呼声积极回应，应该承担责任。
从法国电视台对部分抗议者的采访中可以看到，马克龙的讲话似乎收效甚微，许多人认为他的表态“来得太少，来得太晚”。据 BBC 最新民调显示，马克龙的支持率已由当选时的 66%降到了 23%。