法國總統盟友遭到腐敗指控

France's prosecutors are looking into kickback allegations involving three allies of President Nicolas Sarkozy in a widening scandal that threatens to taint his bid for reelection.

在一起盡人皆知、威脅到法國總統薩科齊競選連任聲譽的醜聞事件中，法國檢察官正在調查法國總統薩科齊的3名盟友涉嫌收取回扣的指控。

Known in France as the "Karachi affair," the scandal is a tangled story of corruption that dates back to 1995, when France sold three submarines to Pakistan. French investigators are now probing allegations of kickbacks in the sales that theoretically helped finance the presidential campaign of France's former prime minister Eduard Balladur. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was budget minister at the time and close to Balladur. Magistrates also suspect the contract was linked to a bomb attack in Pakistan that killed 11 Frenchmen.

在法國被人熟知的，被稱爲“卡拉奇事件”的醜聞，是一起錯綜複雜的腐敗事件，這起事件的發生要追溯到1995年，當時法國賣給巴基斯坦三艘潛艇。法國調查人員目前正在調查銷售中收取回扣的指控。這些回扣從理論上講是用於資助法國前總理巴拉杜爾的總統競選活動。法國總統薩科齊當時是預算部長，和巴拉杜爾關係很近。地方法官還懷疑，這項合同與在巴基斯坦發生的一起導致11名法國人喪生的炸彈襲擊事件有關。

Now, three men close to Sarkozy are implicated in the alleged kickbacks. Police arrested two of them this past week, releasing both after questioning them. Prosecutors also announced they were investigating allegations that a third - former interior minister Brice Hortefeux - had illegally obtained access to the investigation and tipped one of the men off about confessions to police by his estranged wife, Princess Helen of Yugoslavia.

現在，與薩科齊關係很近的三名男子與受到指稱的回扣事件有牽連。警方在過去的這個星期逮捕了其中兩人，並在訊問之後釋放了他們。檢察官也宣佈他們正在調查對這三人當中的第三人、前內政部長奧特弗的指控，指控說他非法介入這項調查，並向其中一名男子通風報信，透露了與這名男子感情不和的妻子、南斯拉夫的海倫公主已經向警方招供的消息。

In an interview on France's Europe 1 radio, Princess Helen said she stood by her claims that her husband returned home from trips with suitcases of money. She said she didn't know where it came from.

在接受法國歐洲廣播一臺採訪的時候，海倫公主表示，她堅持自己的指稱，那就是她的丈夫結束旅行回到家中，帶回來好幾旅行箱的錢。她說，她不知道這些錢是從哪裏來的。

A statement by the French presidency this week denied any involvement by Sarkozy in the affair, denouncing what it described as slander and political manipulation.

法國總統府本週的一份聲明，斷然否認薩科齊捲入這起事件，並譴責相關傳言是誹謗和政治操縱。

His center-right government has also closed ranks around him.

薩科齊的中右政府也緊密團結在他的周圍。In an interview on French radio, Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno would not comment directly on the affair. But she also slammed what she called political manipulation just seven months before presidential elections.

在法國電臺的一次採訪中，體育部長茹阿諾沒有直接對這一事件發表評論。但是她抨擊了她所說的在距離總統選舉還有7個月的時候發生的這次政治操縱抹黑事件。

Sarkozy has been struggling with low popularity ratings for months and his political rivals have been quick to capitalize on the scandal. Far right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen denounced ongoing political corruption, as did members of the main opposition Socialist Party.

薩科齊幾個月來一直爲自己的支持率低而傷神。他的政敵迅速利用這起醜聞。極右翼總統候選人勒龐譴責正在發生的政治腐敗事件，主要反對黨--社會黨一些成員也做出同樣的譴責。

Socialist party head Martine Aubry, another presidential hopeful, described the affair as among the most serious in recent French history. She called for a thorough investigation.

另外一名有望當選總統的法國社會黨總書記馬蒂娜·奧布里形容這起事件是法國近代歷史上最嚴重的腐敗事件。她要求對此進行徹底調查。

Sarkozy ran for the French presidency in 2007 promising a clean government. His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was dogged by a series of corruption allegations during his marathon political career. He is currently on trial in connection with some of them. Prosecutors however have asked the court to dismiss the Chirac case for lack of sufficient evidence.

薩科齊2007年競選總統的時候，承諾建立一個清廉的政府。他的前任雅克·希拉剋在其漫長的政治生涯中受到一系列腐敗指稱的困擾。希拉剋目前正在由於其中的一些腐敗事件而受審。不過，由於缺乏足夠的證據，檢察官要求法院撤訴。