President Emmanuel Macron has called snap parliamentary elections later this month in the wake of a big victory for his rival Marine Le Pen's National Rally in the European Parliament vote.
在其競爭對手瑪麗·勒龐的National Rally在歐洲議會投票中取得巨大勝利後，法國總統馬克宏呼籲本月晚些時候提前舉行議會選舉。

The far-right party is on course to win 32% of the vote, exit polls say, more than twice that of the president's Renaissance party.
出口民調顯示，極右翼政黨預計將贏得 32% 的選票，是總統領導的Renaissance黨的兩倍多。

Announcing the dissolution of parliament, he said the two rounds of voting would take place on 30 June and 7 July, a few weeks before the Paris Olympics.
在宣佈解散議會時，他表示兩輪投票將於6月30日和7月7日舉行，在巴黎奧運前幾周。

Mr Macron made the dramatic and surprise decision in a televised address from the Élysée Palace an hour after voting closed and exit polls had been declared in France's EU elections.
法國的歐盟選舉投票結束、出口民調結果公佈一個小時後，馬克宏在艾麗謝舍宮透過電視演說做出了這一戲劇性且令人驚訝的決定。

His decision came not long after National Rally's 28-year-old leader, Jordan Bardella, openly called on the president to call parliamentary elections. "I have heard your message," the president told French voters, "and I will not let it go without a response."
他的決定是在National Rally的28歲領導人Jordan Bardella公開呼籲總統舉行議會選舉後不久做出的。馬克宏對法國選民表示：「我聽到了你們傳達的訊息，我不會無視它。」

"France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony," he said, adding that he could not resign himself to the far-right's progress "everywhere in the continent".
「法國需要平靜與和諧的明顯多數。」他補充說，他不能屈服於「歐洲大陸各地」極右翼的成長。

Now barely two years into his second term as president, Mr Macron already lacks a majority in the French parliament.
現在，馬克宏擔任總統的第二個任期剛剛兩年，已經在法國議會中失去了多數席位。

Though this European vote in theory has no bearing on national politics, he clearly decided that continuing his mandate without a new popular consultation would place too much of a strain on the system.
儘管理論上這次歐洲議會選舉對內政沒有直接影響，他顯然決定在沒有徵詢新的民意下，繼續執政將給體制帶來太大的壓力。

Ms Le Pen, who has twice been defeated by Mr Macron in presidential elections, immediately reacted, saying her party was "ready to exercise power, ready to put an end to mass immigration".
曾經在兩次總統選舉中輸給馬克宏的勒龐女士立刻回應，表示她的政黨“已經準備好執政，結束法國面對大規模移民的日子”。

Calling a snap election is a huge surprise for the country, and a huge risk for President Macron. He could have reacted differently.
提前舉行大選對國家來說是一個巨大的意外，對馬克宏總統來說也是一個巨大的風險。他可以有不同的反應。

He could have just kept going, explaining the far right’s massive victory as a European aberration which would be corrected at more important elections.
他可以繼續執政，將極右翼的巨大勝利解釋為歐洲的失常，並將在更重要的選舉中被糾正。

He could have trusted to the impending European football championship in Germany and above all the Paris Olympics to keep people’s minds off politics for a couple of months.
他可以依靠即將在德國舉辦的歐洲足球錦標賽，甚至是巴黎奧運會，讓人們在幾個月內不去關心政治。

That was certainly how the Paris commentariat thought he would take his party’s rout. But one can only assume the president had seen this coming, and planned his response in advance.
原本巴黎的評論界認為他肯定會這樣面對他的政黨在歐洲議會的慘敗，但總統似乎已經預測到這一點，並提前計畫了他的回應。

Certainly the result was an almost exact replica of the polls, so he would have had plenty of time to consider his options.
當然，選舉結果幾乎與民調一模一樣，因此他有足夠的時間來考慮他的下一步。

The fact is that he is stuck. Without a majority, getting any bill through the National Assembly is already a struggle. With most of the country now so clearly against him, any new legislation – for example the upcoming budget – could have proved explosive.
事實是，馬克宏身陷政治僵局。喪失多數，任何要通過議會的法案已經是一場纏鬥。在民意這麼明顯的反對之下，任何新的議案—例如即將到來的預算—都可能引發爆炸性的後果。

So he has plumped for "clarity". If National Rally has the votes then, he says, they should be given the chance to govern.
所以他選擇了”正面對決”。如果National Rally贏得選票，那麼，他說，他們應該有機會執政。

Obviously the president will hope his own Renaissance party can mount a fight-back at the elections on 30 June and 7 July. Or that other parties will do well better too.
顯然總統會希望自己的Renaissance黨能在6月30日和7月7日的選舉中反擊，否則其他政黨也能表現得更好。

But he must appreciate that the odds favour another victory for National Rally. Maybe not one so sweeping as Sunday's result, but enough for it to become the biggest party in parliament.
但他必須認識到，National Rally再次獲勝的可能性很高。也許不會像周日的結果那樣大獲全勝，但也足以讓其成為議會最大黨。

At which point we might well have a Prime Minister Marine Le Pen, or indeed Jordan Bardella.
屆時，我們可能會有總理瑪麗勒龐，或是Jordan Bardella。