奥朗德宣布不谋求连任

François Hollande announced on Thursday night that he would not run for a second term in next year’s French presidential elections.

弗朗索瓦•奥朗德(François Hollande)周四晚宣布，他不会在明年的法国总统选举中谋求连任。

The unprecedented decision was driven by his historically low popularity ratings, which left him little chance of success against centre-right candidate François Fillon and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen.

做出这一史无前例的决定，原因出自奥朗德处于历史性低点的民意支持率，这让他在中右翼候选人弗朗索瓦•菲永(François Fillon)和极右翼国民阵线(National Front)领导人马琳•勒庞(Marine Le Pen)面前几乎没有胜算。

He would also first have had to face a hotly contested and potentially humiliating contest for selection as candidate of his ruling Socialist party.

而且，他首先还不得不面对激烈并可能自取其辱的竞争，才能成为其所在的执政党社会党(Socialist)的候选人。

“Power and the exercise of power have not made me lose my lucidity,” Mr Hollande said in a sombre television address from the Elysée Palace. “I am conscious of the risks that my candidacy would create for the [Socialist] majority. Therefore I have decided not to run for president.”

在爱丽舍宫发表的阴郁电视讲话中，奥朗德表示：“权力和对权力的行使并未让我失去清醒的头脑。我很清楚我担任候选人会为(社会党的)多数党地位带来的风险。因此，我已决定不竞选总统。”

His prime minister, Manuel Valls, is now expected to run instead in a bid to unite the fractured Socialist party — although he, too, will face stiff opposition from rivals such as Arnaud Montebourg, the leftist firebrand and former economy minister.

目前，他的总理曼努埃尔•瓦尔斯(Manuel Valls)预计会代他竞选，试图将四分五裂的社会党团结起来——尽管他也将面临阿尔诺•蒙特布尔(Arnaud Montebourg)等对手的激烈竞争。蒙特布尔曾任经济部长，是一个激进的左翼人士。

Mr Hollande is the first French president since the second world war not to stand for re-election. His presidency was marked by a series of brutal Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere and a stubbornly weak economy.

奥朗德是二战以来首位不竞选连任的法国总统。在他的总统任上，法国在巴黎及其他地区遭遇了一系列血腥的伊斯兰主义恐怖袭击，还出现了顽固的经济疲软。

An early round of tax rises after his election in 2012 to close the budget deficit and persistently high unemployment made him deeply unpopular. A midterm switch to pro-business reforms failed to win him back popular backing, despite a recent uptick in the economy.

2012年当选后初期为消除预算赤字而启动的一轮增税措施、以及居高不下的失业率，令奥朗德人气一落千丈。而中期向亲商界改革的转型，尽管令经济在近期有所起色，却也未能为他赚回人气。