It seemed like a no-brainer: Lower Germany’s embarrassingly high carbon emissions at no cost, and save some lives in the process.

這聽起來是個不費腦筋的好主意：不須付出成本，便減低德國高得使人羞愧的碳排放量，還可以順道拯救人命。

But when a government-appointed commission in January dared to float the idea of a speed limit on the autobahn, the country’s storied highway network, it almost caused rioting.

Irate drivers took to the airwaves. Union leaders menacingly put on their yellow vests, hinting at street protests. And the far-right opposition used the opportunity to rage against the “stranglehold” of the state.

然而，當政府指派的委員會元月大膽提出在德國名聞全球的高速公路上設速限的構想時，卻幾乎引發暴動。

暴怒的開車族在廣播裡抱怨，工會領袖意帶威脅地穿上黃背心，暗示將上街抗議。極右派反對黨趁機對國家的「箝制」大事撻伐。

A highway speed limit was “contrary to every common sense,” the transport minister, Andreas Scheuer, swiftly declared, contradicting his own experts.And that was that.

德國運輸部長安德烈・舒爾很快就宣布，給高速公路設速限「完全違反常情」，立場和自己的專家團隊相牴觸。此事就此打消。

As far as quasi-religious national obsessions go for large portions of a country’s population, the German aversion to speed limits on the autobahn is up there with gun control in America, whaling in Japan and sovereignty in Britain.

就一國高比例人口近乎宗教信仰式的執念而言，德國人對高速公路限速的反感之深，一如美國人對於槍枝管制，日本人對於捕鯨，和英國人對於主權。

With few exceptions, like Afghanistan and the Isle of Man, there are highway speed limits essentially everywhere else in the world.

世界上除了阿富汗和英國曼島等極少數例外，其他地方的公路基本上都有速限。

But this is Germany, the self-declared “auto nation,” where Carl Benz built the first automobile and where cars are not only the proudest export item but also a symbol of national identity.

但這可是自詡為「汽車王國」的德國，卡爾·賓士在這裡造出第一輛汽車，汽車不僅是令人驕傲的出口品，還是國家身分的象徵。

It’s also the country where, in darker times, Hitler laid the groundwork for a network of multilane highways that in the postwar years came to epitomize economic success — and freedom.

同樣的這個國家，在它較黯淡的時代，希特勒打下多車道高速公路系統的基礎，而這系統在戰後年月裡成為經濟成就和自由的典範。

Call it Germany’s Wild West: The autobahn is the one place in a highly regulated society where no rule is the rule — and that place is sacred.

把它想成德國的「大西部」吧：在一個受到高度規制的社會裡，高速公路是唯一沒有規矩就是它的規矩的地方，而此處神聖不可侵犯。

“It’s a very emotional topic,” confided Stefan Gerwens, head of transport and mobility at ADAC, an automobile club with 20 million members, which is opposed to any speed limit.

So emotional, apparently, that facts and figures count for little.

「這是個高度情緒化的議題。」全德汽車俱樂部的運輸流動主任史帝芬・葛文如此坦承。全德汽車俱樂部是有兩千萬會員的汽車社團，他們徹底反對給高速公路設下速限。這個議題顯然太具情緒性，以致事實和數據都變得無關痛癢。

Germany is woefully behind on meeting its 2020 climate goals, so the government appointed a group of experts to find ways to lower emissions in the transport sector. Cars account for 11 percent of total emissions, and their share is rising.

德國距離達成2020年的氣候目標已大幅落後，因此政府指派了專家團隊以找出減低運輸方面碳排放的方法。車輛的碳排放量佔去總排放量的一成一，而且比例還在增高。

A highway speed limit of 120 kph, or 75 mph, could cover a fifth of the gap to reach the 2020 goals for the transport sector, environmental experts say.

環境專家說，給高速公路設置時速120公里（或75英里）的速限，可以在交通方面填補五分之一的缺口，協助達成2020年的氣候目標。

“Of all the individual measures, it is the one that would be the most impactful — and it costs nothing,” said Dorothee Saar, of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a nonprofit environmental organization that has lobbied for a speed limit.

「在所有個人可以達成的事項裡，這是最具影響力，也不須花費成本的方法。」非營利環保組織「德國環境救援」的朵樂絲・薩爾說，此組織長年力促給高速公度限速。

“But when it comes to cars,” Saar sighed, “the debate tends to become irrational.”

「可是一談到車，」薩爾嘆息道：「辯論往往就變得不理性了。」

French airstrikes last month in support of Chad’s longtime autocratic ruler, Idriss Déby, have raised a familiar question: Has France really left behind decades of deep involvement in African politics?

法國上個月空襲查德以支持長年專制統治的領袖德比，這讓人想到一個熟悉的問題：法國是否真已走出數十年深度介入非洲政局的窠臼？

France’s foreign minister defended the strikes against Chadian rebels before a handful of puzzled parliamentarians who wondered why the country was again propping up an ironhanded African dictator — albeit one whose relatively efficient military is considered vital in the fight against terrorists.

法國外長在幾位困惑的國會議員面前為空襲查德辯護，這些議員納悶，法國為何再度支持一名非洲鐵腕獨裁者，儘管這名獨裁者相對而言較有效率的軍隊被視為反恐戰的關鍵力量。

French officials have brushed aside these qualms, insisting that it was Déby himself who invited the French. The strikes took place between Feb. 3-6, destroying 20 rebel pickup trucks and stopping a rebel advance, the French military said in a statement.

法國官方對這些疑慮未予正面回應，堅稱法軍是應德比本人之邀前去。法國軍方發表聲明說，空襲發生在2月3日到6日，摧毀叛軍20輛皮卡，並阻止叛軍前進。

French analysts have been sharply critical of the intervention in Chad.

法國分析家嚴厲抨擊政府介入查德局勢。

“How can we convince the Europeans to have a decent policy in Africa, when we do this in Chad?” asked Roland Marchal, a leading expert on the country at Sciences Po university.

巴黎政治大學查德事務頂尖專家馬沙爾問道：「我們對查德做這種事，又如何能說服歐洲人對非洲採取合宜有度的政策？」

“France is promoting this discourse on jihadist movements, that they spring from bad governance and human rights violations. But if you look at Chad, you have exactly the same thing,” Marchal said. “With such good friends, why do you need enemies?”

馬沙爾說：「法國宣揚對聖戰組織的這種論述：聖戰組織源於治理不善和侵犯人權。不過，如果看看查德，你會發現完全一樣的狀況。有了這樣的好友，你還需要敵人嗎？」

Every French president for decades has repeatedly proclaimed the end of French interference in Africa, referred to with disdain by critics as “Francafrique,” a hydra-headed entanglement of commercial, military and political interests, with France pulling the strings.

數十年來每位法國總統都再三宣稱，法國對非洲的介入結束了。批評者把法國對非洲的干預謔稱為「法蘭西非洲」，也就是在商業、軍事與政治利益方面錯綜複雜的牽連，而法國在幕後操縱。

Emmanuel Macron is no exception. His government was outraged recently when Italy’s populist leaders mocked France for what they called the perpetuation of its colonial relationship with Africa.

法國現任總統馬克宏也不例外。最近搞民粹主義的義大利政府領袖們揶揄法國，說他們把法國與非洲的殖民關係永久化了，此事激怒了馬克宏政府。

France, Macron declared to bemused students in a landmark speech in Burkina Faso in 2017, “no longer has an Africa policy.”

馬克宏2017年在布吉納法索一場指標性演說中，對一臉茫然的學生聽眾宣布，法國「不再有非洲政策」。

He promised a grand reset of the tortured French-African relationship, set free by a youthful leader who was “part of a generation that has never known Africa as a colonized continent.”

馬克宏承諾，讓多苦多難的法非關係有個偉大的重新開始，身屬「從未視非洲為被殖民大陸的世代」，他這個年輕領袖要解放法非關係。

Marchal called the president’s declaration naïve. Macron, he said, “thinks he is the new one and doesn’t need to look back. But, he has got to put on his shoulders the legacy of what France did in Africa.”

馬沙爾認為馬克宏的宣言太過天真。他說，馬克宏「自以為是新任領袖，不必回顧過去，但馬克宏非把法國對非洲做過的事扛在肩上不可」。

Both the French promise and French outrage belie a far murkier reality.

法國的承諾和憤怒都掩蓋了遠為陰暗的真相。

France continues to keep a heavy hand in Africa, militarily and economically. Analysts said the recent Chad incursion, hardly the first time the French military has swooped in to rescue Déby, was a classic example. （Adam Nossiter）

法國仍在軍事和經濟上深度介入非洲。分析家說，法國最近這次入侵查德就是個典型案例，而這並非法軍首次衝進查德營救德比。

※說文解字看新聞

本文從法國空襲查德，談法國對非洲前殖民地的影響力。Françafrique由法文詞France（法蘭西）和Afrique（非洲）組成，指法國非洲特殊關係。象牙海岸1960年獨立後首位總統伍弗布尼發明這個詞，暗示象牙海岸跟前宗主國法國保持緊密關係，才得以政治穩定、經濟成長。不過，現在此詞常帶貶意。

puzzled和bemused中文都是「困惑的」，但puzzled困惑程度更強。puzzle當及物動詞是「使人面對難解問題或棘手情況」，或「苦苦思索而弄清楚」，如puzzle out an answer to a riddle。bemuse當及物動詞則是「使人困惑」。

support和prop up中文都是「支持」，但prop up特別強調「為防某物掉落，而用另一物支撐」，引申為「協助政府、體系或組織繼續存在」。

hydra-headed典出希臘神話。英雄海克力士必須斬除九頭蛇Hydra。九頭蛇的頭會噴出毒氣，被砍掉後還能再生，所以hydra便用來形容「難以根除的禍害」，hydra-headed指「多頭的、困難重重的」。

末段hardly用「幾乎不」說不通，正確意思是「並不」，作者這種用法是希望讀者同意自己的意見。