But the shock of the night was a record near 20 per cent performance by the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, who outdid pollsters’ predictions.
但昨晚最令人吃惊的是国民阵线候选人马琳•勒庞(Marine Le Pen)的表现，她的得票率接近20%，超过了民调机构的预测数字，创下该党的历史纪录。
Mr Sarkozy’s failure to come top in the first round is a blow to his efforts to inject some momentum into a campaign weighed down by the lowest end-of-term ratings of any French president since the 1950s.
对萨科齐而言，首轮投票得票率屈居第二是个打击。他在任期末的民众支持率是自上世纪50年代以来的历任法国总统中最低的，面临这种不利局面，他在此次竞选过程中一直在努力造势。
“This is an election that will weigh on the future of Europe. That is why many people are watching us,” Mr Hollande, bidding to become France’s first Socialist leader in 17 years, said earlier in the day after casting his ballot in Tulle, his constituency in south central France.
奥朗德在自己所在的选区——法国中南部城市蒂勒(Tulle)——进行投票的前一天表示：“这是一场关乎欧洲前途的选举。正因如此，许多人正在看着我们。”奥朗德的目标是成为法国17年来首位来自社会党的总统。
