 As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day rendering her some signal service and that I would have the occasion to do so. |
| The graveyards are full of indispensable men. |
| Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last. |
| The great leaders have always stage-managed their effects. |
| Only peril can bring the French together. One can't impose unity out of the blue on a country that has 265 different kinds of cheese. |
| Silence is the ultimate weapon of power. |
| Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown. |
| You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination. |
| Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so. |
| Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first. |
| You start out giving your hat, then you give your coat, then your shirt, then your skin and finally your soul. |
| For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her. |
| France has lost the battle but she has not lost the war. |
| I grew up to always respect authority and respect those in charge. |
| The leader must aim high, see big, judge widely, thus setting himself apart form the ordinary people who debate in narrow confines. |
| A great country worthy of the name does not have any friends. |
| In the tumult of men and events, solitude was my temptation; now it is my friend. What other satisfaction can be sought once you have confronted History? |
| One cannot govern with 'buts'. |
| I have heard your views. They do not harmonize with mine. The decision is taken unanimously. |
| I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. |
