STEP BY STEP, Emmanuel Macron has been executing what looks like a plan to protect France’s institutions in case(以防，万一) the populist right wins next year’s presidential election. The president has named a new armed-forces chief (General Fabien Mandon) and head of the state auditor (Amélie de Montchalin). He is due soon to replace ambassadors to Berlin, London and Washington. François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Bank of France, has said he will step down ahead of schedule(提前卸任) in June, letting Mr Macron appoint a successor to serve six years. Last year Mr Macron named Richard Ferrand, a political ally(盟友), as head of the Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional body (the president names three of its nine members, each for a nine-year term).
一步一步地，埃马纽埃尔·马克龙一直在执行一项看似旨在保护法国制度的计划，以防民粹主义右翼在明年的总统选举中获胜。总统已任命了新的武装部队参谋长（法比安·曼东将军）和国家审计署署长（阿梅莉·德·蒙沙兰）。他很快将更换驻柏林、伦敦和华盛顿的大使。法国央行行长弗朗索瓦·维勒罗伊·德·加尔豪表示，他将于6月提前辞职，让马克龙任命一名继任者，任期六年。去年，马克龙任命政治盟友理查德·费朗为宪法委员会主席，这是最高宪法机构（总统任命其九名成员中的三名，每人任期九年）。
Already this effort has infuriated(激怒) the populist-right National Rally (RN). Its leaders, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, top the polls(在民调中领先) for the first round of the presidential vote that is due in April 2027. Mr Macron, protested Mr Bardella, is “trying to lock down(锁定，牢牢控制) our institutions in order to keep control”.
这一努力已经激怒了民粹主义右翼的国民联盟（RN）。其领导人玛丽娜·勒庞和乔丹·巴德拉在将于2027年4月举行的总统选举第一轮投票的民调中领先。巴德拉抗议说，马克龙“试图锁定我们的制度以保持控制”。
If France’s president is worried about the potential for state capture(国家被俘获), it is with good reason. Few European countries vest(赋予（权力）) so many powers in the person serving as the head of state. France’s president can send troops into battle, appoint the top general, press the nuclear button, name the prime minister, dissolve parliament, declare a state of emergency, pass decrees and pick the heads of public bodies. New rules constrain some of these powers. But they constitute an unusually formidable(强大的，令人畏惧的) set of tools. Since Mr Macron cannot stand for a third consecutive term, the next person to wield them may be Ms Le Pen or Mr Bardella, whichever ends up as the RN candidate. Liberals fear they are populist strongmen in the making.
如果法国总统担心国家被俘获的可能性，那是有充分理由的。很少有欧洲国家将如此多的权力赋予担任国家元首的人。法国总统可以派遣军队参战、任命最高将领、按下核按钮、任命总理、解散议会、宣布紧急状态、颁布法令以及挑选公共机构负责人。新规则限制了其中一些权力，但它们构成了一套异常强大的工具。由于马克龙不能连续第三次连任，下一个使用这些工具的人可能是勒庞或巴德拉，两人中谁成为国民联盟的候选人。自由派担心他们正在成为民粹主义强人。
