A few questions

Question

HiI have a few questions regarding this exercise:1. The phrase 'je me suis sentie méprisée' - I was a little confused about whether to make 'senti' or 'méprisé' agree with the female speaker.  In fact I got it wrong, as I see that both should agree.  Could you explain the rule, or do you have a lesson I could look at for this?2. what is the meaning of 'de l'instrumentalisation du vote barrage'?3. what is the meaning of 'voter blanc'?  I have a good idea but would be very interested to hear an explanation.Thankyou once again, dudes of Lawless French for an interesting dictée, with some good new vocab.Megan

Accepted Answer

Hi Megan,
"je me suis sentie méprisée'" --> I felt scorned or despised or spurned.
I see méprisée as the past participle of the verb mépriser being used as an adjective that agrees with the subject "Je" (female.)     (The past participle is a verb form with several roles. It’s essential in the creation of compound verb tenses/moods and the passive voice, and it can also be used as an adjective. Ref. Lawless French)
The conjugation of sentir in the passé composé is correct as written above.
2) Not sure about this expression  --> vote blocking?
3) Blank vote  --  deliberately spoiled vote?
This is my best effort for you  -- hope it helps.
Let's see what the other contributors can add.
Bonne journée
Jim

Answer

"mon rejet de l'instrumentalisation du vote barrage" - my rejection of the instrumentalization of the blocking vote.
I know the term 'à faire barrage' has been thrown around a lot in the last few weeks, which is to vote against a candidate to block them, rather than for a candidate you like. My view of this phrase is she is trying to protest that she can be counted on to block a disfavorable candidate, which she says is not really a choice at all, rather than what she wants, which is that the system offers her a candidate that represents her values. She hates that it's becoming an instrument the system is using to "faire barrage." So she's going to "voter blanc" - not vote for either - rather than vote for a candidate just to block another.

Answer

Voter blanc -- to cast an empty ballot, i.e., not vote for any candidate.