FT社评：审判“国父” Leader_A French trial

What had once been described as “the trial of Vercingetorix” has come to an unexpected end. Jacques Chirac, the former President of France, has been convicted for misusing public funds when he was mayor of Paris in the 1990s.

曾一度被形容为一场“维钦托利(Vercingetorix)的审判”的案件，出现了出人意料的结局（维钦托利是高卢阿维尔尼人的部落首领，曾领导高卢对罗马统治的最后反抗——译者注）。法国前总统雅克?希拉克(Jacques Chirac)因在20世纪90年代担任巴黎市长期间挪用公款，被判有罪。

Mr Chirac was long assumed to enjoy a measure of judicial indulgence that went well beyond the formal protection he was entitled to by virtue of his office. Voices from across the political spectrum had called for the trial to be shelved. Sceptics had wrongly assumed that the court would somehow find ways to kick the ruling into the long grass.

人们一直以来都认为，希拉克享有的司法保护远远超过他因职务而理应享有的正式豁免权。各方政治力量都曾发出声音呼吁搁置对他的审判。怀疑者则曾经错误地以为，法院肯定会找到某种办法，将判决长期搁置。

That the French judicial system has held Mr Chirac to account is testimony to its independence. Mr Chirac’s two-year sentence was actually harsher than that of the others accused in the trial. His age and weak health justify the judges’ decision to suspend the jail term.

法国司法系统对希拉克做出有罪判决，证明了自己的独立性。希拉克的两年刑期实际上比其他被告更重。鉴于他的年龄和虚弱的身体状况，法官判决缓刑是合理的。

The outcome of the trial is less flattering for the political system. Mr Chirac is the first former head of state to be sentenced in the fifth Republic. But his conviction follows several other affairs. France’s foreign minister, Alain Juppé, was convicted in 2004 in connection with Mr Chirac’s case. Then there are the unsubstantiated allegations that Nicolas Sarkozy took undeclared cash from the billionairess Liliane Bettencourt.

对于法国政治体系而言，这次审判的意义却不那么美好。希拉克是法国第五共和国第一位被判刑的前国家首脑。但在他被判有罪之前，发生了一系列其它事件。2004年，法国外长阿兰?朱佩(Alain Juppé)因卷入希拉克的案件而被判有罪。然后出现了未经证实的传言，称尼古拉?萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)从女亿万富翁利利亚娜?贝当古(Liliane Bettencourt)那里收取现金而没有申报。

There is no suggestion that any money ended up in the pockets of the politicians concerned. Mr Chirac was found guilty of using taxpayers’ money to fund party activities. But the recurrence of such affairs suggests there may be something wrong in the way France lubricates its political machine.

没有证据表明，任何钱财落入了相关政客的个人腰包。希拉克被判有罪，是因为他用纳税人的钱资助政党活动。但这类事件的反复发生表明，法国政治机器的“润滑”方式或许存在某些问题。

Whether the symbolic conviction of a former president will change this state of things is moot. Mr Chirac’s fate may perhaps constrain politicians’ sense of impunity. If there are doubts, it is because of past experience. Mr Juppé bounced back to high office just six years after his conviction.

对一位前总统的象征性判罪是否会改变这种状况，目前还不得而知。希拉克的命运或许会降低政客们对免罪的预期。如果人们对此存在疑问，那也是因为过去的经验。朱佩在被判罪仅6年之后，就东山再起获得高位。

With only months to go before France’s next presidential election, mainstream politicians should be wary how they calibrate their response. Mr Chirac’s downfall may be treated with some indulgence by a public that has come to see him as a kind of grandfather to the nation. But fringe politicians such as the Front National’s Marine Le Pen will view it with a less forgiving eye, seeking to play up to the public’s perception that all politicians are on the take.

距离法国下届总统选举只剩几个月的时间，主流政客应谨慎计算他们的反应。曾经把希拉克视为国父级人物的公众，或许会对他的垮台投上几许宽容的目光。但像国民阵线(Front National)的马琳?勒庞(Marine Le Pen)这样的边缘政客，则会对此更为苛责，以谋求迎合公众心中“所有政客都不干净”的感觉。

France’s mainstream parties should be careful. At a time of crisis, populist sloganeering can prove dangerously effective.

法国的主流政党对此应该小心。事实证明，在危机时期，民粹主义的口号通常都令人胆寒地有效。