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hired thugs

French translation: sbires, nervis, voyous à gages

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:hired thugs
French translation:sbires, nervis, voyous à gages
Entered by: Jocelyne S

10:33 Sep 13, 2007
English to French translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Government / Politics / Latin America
English term or phrase: hired thugs
Le terme est employé deux fois de suite :

This is not an isolated case, given that in recent weeks attacks have increased against ZZZ at TTT, which have been harassed by groups of hired thugs and plainclothes policemen.

The workers at XXX have also received threats, and there have been attacks by *hired thugs* at other YYY institutions.

Evidemment nous parlons de voyous embauchés par l'état, mais comment tourner la phrase, surtout dans le deuxième exemple, pour ne pas faire trop lourd ?

Merci d'avance,
Jocelyne
Jocelyne S
France
Local time: 17:14
sbires, nervis
Explanation:
explications du Robert:
Sbire: homme de main, personnage qui exerce des violences au service de quelqu'un, d'un pourvoir oppressif
Nervi: homme de main, tueur
Selected response from:

afls
Local time: 16:14
Grading comment
Merci beaucoup pour toutes vos suggestions !
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4sbires, nervis
afls
3 +3vrais-faux voyous / voyous à gages
siragui
4 +1fiers-à-bras
Martin Dufresne
4des groupes de loubards recrutes
xuebai
3mercenaires à la solde de .../hommes de main
Francis MARC


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
mercenaires à la solde de .../hommes de main


Explanation:
propositions

Francis MARC
Lithuania
Local time: 18:14
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 53

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  GILLES MEUNIER: ce sont des voyous, gangster ici, des mercenaires, c'est un autre niveau de langage, ça suppose des hommes entraînés...
2 mins
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
sbires, nervis


Explanation:
explications du Robert:
Sbire: homme de main, personnage qui exerce des violences au service de quelqu'un, d'un pourvoir oppressif
Nervi: homme de main, tueur

afls
Local time: 16:14
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Merci beaucoup pour toutes vos suggestions !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katsy: yes to 'sbires' - often used in French in this context, I think
33 mins
agree  hirselina: sbire http://www.nanarland.com/glossaire-definition-138-S-comme-sb...
1 hr
agree  GILLES MEUNIER: peut être mafieux
1 hr
neutral  BusterK: le mot sbire est pour moi toujours accompagné du commanditaire, ce qui n'est pas le cas ici...
5 hrs
agree  jean-jacques alexandre: W/ nervis
8 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
vrais-faux voyous / voyous à gages


Explanation:
"Sbires" is fine, of course, but it requires a possessive (policiers en civil et leurs sbires, les sbires du gouvernement, etc.). So here are a couple of other options.

Some examples:

Les policiers ayant le sens de la justice sont heureux d’entendre cette nouvelle ; les voyous à gages qui torturent les pratiquants de Falun Gong ne peuvent ...

fr.clearharmony.net/articles/200308/9221p.html - 7k -

"vraies-fausses entreprises, vrais-faux mercenaires, sociétés-écrans, coopération bidon ou alibi, flux financiers parallèles"

forum.politics.be/archive/index.php/t-26279.html - 33k



siragui
Local time: 17:14
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  BusterK: d'accord pour les sbires. J'aime bien les vrais-faux, également utilisés pour les faux papiers fournis par une autorité.
2 hrs
  -> merci BusterK
agree  afls: Réflexion faite, je préfère les voyous à gage aux sbires
4 hrs
  -> merci afls
agree  xuebai: voyous a gage
17 hrs
  -> merci xuebai
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
fiers-à-bras


Explanation:
Au Québec, c'est l'expression utilisée.

Martin Dufresne
Local time: 11:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  afls: En France, les fiers-à-bras (terme vieilli) étaient des fanfarons
1 hr
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
des groupes de loubards recrutes


Explanation:
une autre facon de le dire


    Reference: http://www.lepays.bf/quotidien/barometre2.php?codeart=7287&n...
xuebai
Local time: 18:14
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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