Charles De Gaulle Quotes

It will not be any European statesman who will unite Europe: Europe will be united by the Chinese.

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

In order to become the master the politician poses as the servant.

You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.

Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.

Deliberation is the work of many men. Action, of one alone.

How can you be expected to govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?

I respect only those who resist me but cannot tolerate them.

A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.

I was France.

I have tried to lift France out of the mud. But she will return to her errors and vomitings. I cannot prevent the French from being French.

Old age is a shipwreck.

Faced with crisis the man of character falls back on himself.

The sword is the axis of the world and its power is absolute.

Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.

The better I get to know men the more I find myself loving dogs.

Deliberation is the work of many men. Action of one alone.

It so happens that the world is undergoing a transformation to which no change that has yet occurred can be compared either in scope or in rapidity.

Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.

Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word.

I respect only those who resist me, but I cannot tolerate them.

You'll live. Only the best get killed.

Since a politician never believes what he says he is surprised when others believe him.

The graveyards are full of indispensable men.

How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war

In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.

Before such a prodigious career judgement is torn between blame and admiration.

Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.

The true statesman is the one who is willing to take risks.

Always choose the most difficult way, there you will not meet competitors.

How can you govern a country with two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?

The great leaders have always stage-managed their effects.

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.

The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.