Nicolas Sarkozy said he could see a wave rising. For once he was right. The wave's coming; it's high, its strong, and it's going to smack him in the face.

Austerity need not be Europe's fate.

Today, Paris is the capital of the world.

I could have made a fortune in cheeseburgers, but I finally chose politics.

I don't like indecent, unearned wealth. But it is legitimate for an entrepreneur who has created something to make a good living.

If we don't manage to find not just a compromise but a lasting peace agreement, we know perfectly well what the scenario will be. It has a name, it's called war.

There cannot be prosperity without security.

There are tensions abroad where people don't understand our attachment to the freedom of speech, we've seen the protests, and I would say that in France all beliefs are respected.

Each country has a soul, and France's soul is equality.

My real adversary has no name, no face, no party. It will never be elected, yet it governs - the adversary is the world of finance.

To me, it's important to preserve proximity to the people. I wouldn't do anything pretentious, and nothing that hurts the people who voted for me. Triumphalism isn't my thing.

The British Empire passed quickly and with less humiliation than its French and Dutch counterparts, but decades later, the vicious politics of partition still seems to define India and Pakistan.

For me, gratitude is the only attitude.

Honorable retreats are no ways inferior to brave charges, as having less fortune, more of discipline, and as much valor.

When you learn to love yourself, you're better off by far.

Punch me." "Don't be absurd." "Come on, punch me, Barrons." "I'm not punching you." "I said, punch--OW!" He decked me.

You know, you don't see with your eyes You see with your brain And the more words your brain has The more things you can see

This isn't just an unhappy planet. Sometimes very good things can happen.

Unless you love yourself, it's difficult to respect anyone else who holds that high an opinion of you.

humans are born in truth, but we grow up believing in lies. one of the biggest lies in the story of humanity is the lie of our imperfection.

I need to talk to Clarisse," Annabeth said. I stared at her as if she'd just said "I need to eat a large, smelly boot." "What for?