Charles de Gaulle Quotes
-
Victory often goes to the army that makes the least mistakes, not the most brilliant plans.
→ -
The Jews remain what they have been at all times: an elite people, self-confident and domineering.
→ -
I predict you will sink step by step into a bottomless quagmire, however much you spend in men and money." (On Vietnam War)
→ -
It will not be any European statesman who will unite Europe: Europe will be united by the Chinese.
→ -
One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.
→ -
Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in which even greater mechanized forces will bring us victory. Therein lies the destiny of the world.
→ -
You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.
→ -
One can unite the French only under the threat of danger. One cannot simply bring together a nation that produces 265 kinds of cheese.
→ -
History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads.
→ -
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.
→ -
No country without an atom bomb could properly consider itself independent.
→ -
Nothing more enhances authority than silence. It is the crowning virtue of the strong, the refuge of the weak, the modesty of the proud, the pride of the humble, the prudence of the wise, and the sense of fools. To speak is to . . . dissipate one's strength; whereas what action demands is concentration. Silence is a necessary preliminary to the ordering of one's thoughts.
→ -
I have heard your views. They do not harmonize with mine. The decision is taken unanimously.
→ -
For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her.
→ -
Adversity attracts the man of character. He seeks out the bitter joy of responsibility.
→ -
Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.
→ -
Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.
→ -
Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.
→ -
Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word.
→ -
All my life I have had a certain idea of France.
→ -
The perfection preached in the gospels never yet built an empire. Every man of action has a strong dose of egotism, pride, hardness, and cunning.
→ -
France was built with swords. The fleur-de-lis, symbol of national unity, is only the image of a spear with three pikes.
→ -
No, I'm not talking about the Russians; I mean the Germans. In spite of everything, to have pushed so far!
→ -
One cannot govern with 'buts'.
→ -
China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.
→ -
In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.
→ -
How can one conceive of a one-party system in a country that has over two hundred varieties of cheese?
→ -
Gentlemen, I am ready for the questions to my answers.
→ -
Politics, when it is an art and a service, not an exploitation, is about acting for an ideal through realities.
→ -
I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.
→
Charles de Gaulle
- Born: November 22, 1890
- Died: November 9, 1970
- Occupation: Former President of the French Republic
Related Authors
-
Joseph Stalin Former Premier of the Soviet Union -
Hideki Tojo Military Officer -
Jacques Chirac Former President of France -
Valery Giscard d'Estaing Former President of France -
Francois Hollande President of France -
Konrad Adenauer Former Chancellor of Germany -
Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd U.S. President -
Benito Mussolini Former Duce -
Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th U.S. President -
Nicolas Sarkozy Former President of France -
Neville Chamberlain Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -
Winston Churchill Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -
-
Georges Pompidou Former Prime Minister of France -
Rene Coty Former President of France -
Napoleon Bonaparte Military Commander -
Francois Mitterrand Former President of France -
-
Adolf Hitler Former Chancellor of Germany -
Erwin Rommel Soldier