法国总统盟友遭到腐败指控

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.

在一起尽人皆知、威胁到法国总统萨科齐竞选连任声誉的丑闻事件中，法国检察官正在调查法国总统萨科齐的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.

在法国被人熟知的，被称为“卡拉奇事件”的丑闻，是一起错综复杂的腐败事件，这起事件的发生要追溯到1995年，当时法国卖给巴基斯坦三艘潜艇。法国调查人员目前正在调查销售中收取回扣的指控。这些回扣从理论上讲是用于资助法国前总理巴拉杜尔的总统竞选活动。法国总统萨科齐当时是预算部长，和巴拉杜尔关系很近。地方法官还怀疑，这项合同与在巴基斯坦发生的一起导致11名法国人丧生的炸弹袭击事件有关。

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.

现在，与萨科齐关系很近的三名男子与受到指称的回扣事件有牵连。警方在过去的这个星期逮捕了其中两人，并在讯问之后释放了他们。检察官也宣布他们正在调查对这三人当中的第三人、前内政部长奥特弗的指控，指控说他非法介入这项调查，并向其中一名男子通风报信，透露了与这名男子感情不和的妻子、南斯拉夫的海伦公主已经向警方招供的消息。

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.

在接受法国欧洲广播一台采访的时候，海伦公主表示，她坚持自己的指称，那就是她的丈夫结束旅行回到家中，带回来好几旅行箱的钱。她说，她不知道这些钱是从哪里来的。

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.

法国总统府本周的一份声明，断然否认萨科齐卷入这起事件，并谴责相关传言是诽谤和政治操纵。

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

萨科齐的中右政府也紧密团结在他的周围。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.

在法国电台的一次采访中，体育部长茹阿诺没有直接对这一事件发表评论。但是她抨击了她所说的在距离总统选举还有7个月的时候发生的这次政治操纵抹黑事件。

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.

萨科齐几个月来一直为自己的支持率低而伤神。他的政敌迅速利用这起丑闻。极右翼总统候选人勒庞谴责正在发生的政治腐败事件，主要反对党--社会党一些成员也做出同样的谴责。

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.

另外一名有望当选总统的法国社会党总书记马蒂娜·奥布里形容这起事件是法国近代历史上最严重的腐败事件。她要求对此进行彻底调查。

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.

萨科齐2007年竞选总统的时候，承诺建立一个清廉的政府。他的前任雅克·希拉克在其漫长的政治生涯中受到一系列腐败指称的困扰。希拉克目前正在由于其中的一些腐败事件而受审。不过，由于缺乏足够的证据，检察官要求法院撤诉。