周四，法国的活动人士计划在全国各地举行集会，以此检验这场全国性学生抗议运动能否持续下去。
French activists were set to rally across France on Thursday, in a test of the longevity of a nationwide student protest movement.
本周四，高中生及其支持者将再次走上法国各地的街头——这已是本周内第二次此类行动。此举旨在检验日益壮大的学生抗议浪潮能否演变为一场席卷全国的民众不满浪潮。
High school students and their supporters were set to pour into streets across France again on Thursday, for the second time in a week, in a test of whether a growing movement of student protesters can swell into a nationwide wave of grievance.
法国当局面临的关键问题是：其他群体是否会加入抗议行列？一旦如此，抗议的性质或将改变，其破坏力也可能随之增强。目前，抗议活动主要局限于各高中校园内，诉求也集中于学生权益问题；不过周二时，工会活动人士也加入了学生行列，在法国各地举行游行，据法国内政部统计，参与人数约达25万。
The big question confronting French officials is whether other groups will now join the protests, which could alter their character and make them even more disruptive. So far, they have largely been contained to high school campuses and focused on student grievances — except for marches across France on Tuesday, when union activists rallied with the students, drawing an estimated 250,000 people, according to the Interior Ministry.
随着公共部门工作人员及其他群体可能陆续加入抗议，法国国内出现了类似“黄背心运动”重演的隐忧。那场运动曾吸引数以万计身着反光黄背心的民众参与，在2018年至2020年间引发了法国社会的剧烈动荡。
With the possibility of public-sector workers and other groups joining in more regularly, the specter of something akin to the yellow-vest movement hangs over France. Those protests, which drew tens of thousands of people clad in high-visibility utility vests, convulsed the country between 2018 and 2020.
如今，社会矛盾其实更为尖锐。法国将于4月举行总统选举，极右翼候选人玛丽娜·勒庞胜选的可能性不小。当前法国正深陷财政危机，市场对公共债务的担忧导致法国国债收益率周三一度升至近5%的水平。
If anything, the tensions are deeper now. France faces a presidential election in April in which a far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen, has a plausible path to victory. The country is in the throes of a financial crisis and fears about public debt caused yields on French bonds to spike to nearly 5 percent on Wednesday.
学生们抗议的内容包括教室拥挤、师资短缺以及学校设施破旧等问题。然而由于财政状况堪忧，法国政府除了继续暂停大部分课程以让学生们表达诉求外，几乎无力提供其他解决方案。
The students are protesting against overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of teachers and decrepit facilities. But with parlous public finances, the French government can offer students little remedy beyond continuing to suspend most classes so they can air their complaints.
“年轻人的愤怒并非无中生有，”塞巴斯蒂安·勒科努总理周三在全国讲话中说道。但他恳请学生们“选择自己的道路，满怀信心地面向未来。”
“Young people’s anger doesn’t come out of nowhere,” Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a speech to the nation on Wednesday. But he pleaded with the students to “choose their path and look to the future with confidence.”
“我们切勿对自己失去信心，”勒科努总理这番话实际上是在为士气低落的国民打气。他列举了法国的各类人才——从学生、农民到士兵和外交官——并呼吁法国人民“借助这些力量来克服眼前的种种挑战。”马克·兰德勒是《纽约时报》驻巴黎分社社长，负责报道法国事务以及美国在欧洲和中东的外交政策。他从事新闻工作已三十余年。
“Let’s not doubt ourselves,” Mr. Lecornu said, in what amounted to a pep talk for a dispirited country. Listing France’s assets — from students and farmers to soldiers and diplomats — he called on the French “to draw on these resources to overcome our challenges.”Mark Landler is the Paris bureau chief of The Times, covering France, as well as American foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades.