馬克龍——法國(guó)“帝王式”總統(tǒng)？

Emmanuel Macron’s decision to open up Louis XIV’s palace in Versailles for Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the end of May made perfect sense for the newly elected French leader who once defined his future presidential style as “Jupiterian”.

今年5月底，埃馬紐埃爾•馬克龍(Emmanuel Macron)為俄羅斯的弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)打開(kāi)了路易十四(Louis XIV)的凡爾賽宮，這一決定對(duì)這位曾將自己未來(lái)總統(tǒng)風(fēng)格定義為“朱庇特式”的法國(guó)新領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人來(lái)說(shuō)是完全合理的。

As a matter of fact, the Hall of Mirrors features a painting by Charles Le Brun depicting Louis the Great holding thunder, the symbol of the king of the Roman gods, French historian Joël Cornette tells me. There are further similarities. It looks very much, Mr Cornette observes, as though the president — who has hailed Charles de Gaulle and François Mitterrand as model “republican monarchs” — has carefully studied the Sun King.

法國(guó)歷史學(xué)家喬爾•科爾內(nèi)特(Joël Cornette)告訴我，實(shí)際上，凡爾賽宮的中央畫(huà)廊“鏡廳”(Galerie des Glaces)有一幅查爾斯•勒布倫(Charles Le Brun)的畫(huà)作，描繪了手持雷杵——羅馬眾神之王的象征——的路易大帝?？茽杻?nèi)特認(rèn)為，曾盛贊查爾斯•戴高樂(lè)(Charles de Gaulle)和弗朗索瓦•密特朗(François Mitterrand)是“共和君主”典范的這位新總統(tǒng)，看來(lái)認(rèn)真研究過(guò)“太陽(yáng)王”(le Roi Soleil)。

“President Macron seems keen to look impenetrable, distant, sovereign — the trademark of Louis XIV,” he says. Like the absolute monarch, who was the first king to take communication seriously (with Jean-Baptiste Colbert as France’s first communication, or propaganda, adviser), Mr Macron appears intent on carefully crafting his image.

他說(shuō)：“馬克龍總統(tǒng)似乎渴望被看做高深莫測(cè)、遙不可及、至高無(wú)上——這些都是路易十四的特點(diǎn)。”路易十四也是第一位重視溝通的君主，他委任了讓-巴普蒂斯特•柯?tīng)栘悹?Jean-Baptiste Colbert)擔(dān)任法國(guó)第一任溝通顧問(wèn)，或者說(shuō)宣傳顧問(wèn)。像這位專(zhuān)制君主一樣，馬克龍似乎有意精心打造自己的形象。

I have witnessed the rapid transformation of a rookie politician into a national leader with some of the strongest executive powers in any western democracy and, after the first round of voting in the legislative elections, a likely crushing parliamentary majority. As economy minister when I first met him, Mr Macron was casual in his dealings with the press — often ready for an improvised interview, a straight-talker happy to make the headlines with a catchy sentence. As a candidate he became less accessible as he sought to look more presidential, but his mischievous self would emerge occasionally — as when he winked at me from his car after visiting an eyeware manufacturer near Paris. When it made sense to show empathy, he seemed to relish it. In Amiens, he debated with angry Whirlpool workers for nearly an hour. In a poor Parisian banlieue, he cuddled children and played football.

我見(jiàn)證了一位政壇新秀迅速變成一國(guó)之首，掌握西方民主國(guó)家中一些最強(qiáng)大的行政權(quán)力，而且——在立法選舉第一輪投票后——很可能獲得議會(huì)絕對(duì)多數(shù)席位。我第一次見(jiàn)到馬克龍時(shí)，擔(dān)任經(jīng)濟(jì)部長(zhǎng)的他與媒體打交道很隨便，往往愿意接受臨時(shí)采訪，講話直言不諱，喜歡用引人注意的語(yǔ)句登上頭條新聞。作為一名候選人的馬克龍變得沒(méi)那么平易近人，他試圖表現(xiàn)得更像總統(tǒng)，但偶爾會(huì)流露出調(diào)皮的本性——在參觀了巴黎附近一家眼鏡制造商后，他從車(chē)上向我眨了眨眼。當(dāng)表現(xiàn)出同理心具有意義時(shí)，他似乎樂(lè)于這么做。在北方城市亞眠(Amiens)，他曾與憤怒的惠而浦(Whirlpool)工人辯論近一個(gè)小時(shí)。在巴黎一個(gè)貧困郊區(qū)，他擁抱孩子們，和他們一起踢足球。

Since becoming president, Mr Macron has retreated to Mount Olympus. Access for the press has been restricted, ministers have been instructed not to leak to the press, and the use of Twitter to spread official videos and messages has been amplified. Determined looks under a layer of make-up have replaced mobile facial expressions; pressed lips have chased the toothy smiles away. On the night of his election, Mr Macron walked alone impossibly slowly in semi-darkness for what felt like an eternity. On inauguration day, he rode on the Champs Elysée aboard a military vehicle. The Duke of Saint-Simon, who provided some of the most complete accounts of Louis XIV’s reign, could have been describing the French president when he remarked the monarch was “master of his face, posture and exterior appearance”.

成為總統(tǒng)后，馬克龍退守到了奧林匹斯山上。媒體被限制訪問(wèn)，部長(zhǎng)們被指示不得向媒體透露消息，使用Twitter傳播官方視頻和消息的做法被放大。一層妝容下的堅(jiān)毅神情取代了生動(dòng)的面部表情;緊抿的雙唇驅(qū)散了露齒微笑。當(dāng)選那天晚上，馬克龍?jiān)诎朊靼氚抵歇?dú)自緩緩而行，讓人感覺(jué)沒(méi)完沒(méi)了。就職典禮當(dāng)日，他站在一輛軍用車(chē)上駛過(guò)香榭麗舍大街。圣西蒙公爵(Duke of Saint)對(duì)路易十四統(tǒng)治時(shí)期作出了一些最完整的描述，他稱(chēng)這位君主是“其面容、姿勢(shì)和外表的主人”，這話用在法國(guó)新總統(tǒng)身上也很貼切。

The 39-year-old French leader is seeking to revive the presidency after Socialist president François Hollande — who campaigned on being just a “normal” guy and loved off-the-record chats with journalists — and Nicolas Sarkozy, whose blunt manners and hyperactive style ended up irking a large number of French voters.

在法國(guó)人經(jīng)歷了以“普通人”形象競(jìng)選，喜歡與記者非正式聊天的社會(huì)黨總統(tǒng)弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)，以及唐突的舉止和異?；钴S的風(fēng)格最終令大批法國(guó)選民感到厭倦的尼古拉•薩科齊(Nicolas Sarkozy)之后，這位39歲的法國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人正尋求重振總統(tǒng)威望。

“Despite beheading their king, the French haven’t really parted with the symbols of monarchy, they have remained attached to the idea of a powerful figure embodying authority,” Prof Cornette says. “Sarkozy and Hollande didn’t get it. They de-sacralised the institution.”

科爾內(nèi)特教授表示：“法國(guó)人雖然砍掉了國(guó)王的腦袋，但他們并沒(méi)有真正地舍棄君主制的象征，他們?nèi)杂袀€(gè)執(zhí)念：一個(gè)體現(xiàn)權(quán)威的強(qiáng)勢(shì)人物。薩科齊和奧朗德都沒(méi)明白這一點(diǎn)。他們讓這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)失去了神圣色彩。”

Even though his “Jupiterian” style needs perfecting (he was caught on camera making a distasteful joke about Comoran migrants recently), and even though it highlights contempt for the press, Mr Macron does get it. The French do not want a “normal” president, Mr Macron told weekly magazine Challenges in October. “On the contrary, such a concept destabilises them, it makes them feel insecure.” Leaders ought to refuse to be dictated by the news and they should have an ability “to enlighten, to know, to spell out a meaning and a direction anchored in French history”, he added.

盡管馬克龍的“朱庇特”風(fēng)格仍需要完善(最近他被攝影機(jī)拍到講了一個(gè)關(guān)于科摩羅移民的令人反感的笑話)，盡管這突顯對(duì)新聞界的蔑視，但馬克龍確實(shí)明白這一點(diǎn)。去年10月馬克龍告訴《挑戰(zhàn)》(Challenges)期刊，法國(guó)人不想要一個(gè)“普通人”總統(tǒng)。“相反，這樣一個(gè)概念會(huì)擾動(dòng)他們的安寧，讓他們感到不安全。”當(dāng)時(shí)他還表示，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者應(yīng)該拒絕被新聞擺布，而應(yīng)該有能力“去啟蒙、去了解、去講清楚一個(gè)根植于法國(guó)歷史的意義和方向。”

These comments echoed Louis XIV’s instructions in 1700 to his grandson, King of Spain Philip V, Prof Cornette points out. “Don’t let anyone govern you, be the master, never have any favourite, nor a prime minister,” the Roi-Soleil wrote. “Take advice but always decide.”

科爾內(nèi)特教授指出，這些話與路易十四在1700年對(duì)他的孫子、西班牙國(guó)王腓力五世(Philip V)的教導(dǎo)如出一轍。這位太陽(yáng)王寫(xiě)道：“不要讓任何人支配你，要做頭，永遠(yuǎn)不要有任何偏袒，也不要任命總理。聽(tīng)取建議，但永遠(yuǎn)作出自己的決策。”