Charles De Gaulle Quotes

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. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Old France, weighed down with history, prostrated by wars and revolutions, endlessly vacillating from greatness to decline, but revived, century after century, by the genius of renewal! ~ Charles De Gaulle

The evolution toward Communism is inevitable. ~ Charles De Gaulle

She was beautiful and lithe, with soft skin the color of bread and eyes like green almonds, and she had straight black hair that reached to her shoulders, and an aura of antiquity that could just as well have been Indonesian as Andean. She was dressed with subtle taste: a lynx jacket, a raw silk blouse with very delicate flowers, natural linen trousers, and shoes with a narrow stripe the color of bougainvillea. 'This is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen,' I thought, when I saw her pass by with the stealthy stride of a lioness, while I waited in the check-in line at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for the plane to New York. ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I have against me the bourgeois, the military and the diplomats, and for me, only the people who take the Metro. ~ Charles De Gaulle

These people really aim very badly. ~ Charles De Gaulle

For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Chapter One The weather in Paris was unusually warm as Peter Haskell's plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport. The plane taxied neatly to the gate, and a few minutes later, briefcase in hand, Peter was striding through the airport. He was almost smiling as he got on the customs line, despite the heat of the day and the number of people crowding ahead of him in line. Peter Haskell loved Paris. He generally traveled to Europe ~ Danielle Steel

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

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. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Long live Montreal, Long live Quebec! Long live Free Quebec! ~ Charles De Gaulle

I might have had trouble saving France in 1946 - I didn't have television then. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The cemetery is filled with indispensable men. ~ Charles De Gaulle

My dear and old country, here we are once again together faced with a heavy trial. ~ Charles De Gaulle

At the root of our civilization, there is the freedom of each person of thought, of belief, of opinion, of work, of leisure. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished. Tomorrow, as today, I will speak on Radio London. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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? ~ Charles De Gaulle

The desire of privilege and the taste of equality are the dominant and contradictory passions of the French of all times. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The more I get to know men, the more I love dogs. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Difficulty attracts the man of character because it is in embracing it that he realizes himself ~ Charles De Gaulle

Every Frenchman wants to enjoy one or more privileges; that's the way he shows his passion for equality ~ Charles De Gaulle

You start out giving your hat, then you give your coat, then your shirt, then your skin and finally your soul. ~ Charles De Gaulle

In order to be the master, the politician poses as the servant. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Nobody can easily bring together a nation that has 265 kinds of cheese' (Charles de Gaulle, 1961 speech) ~ Mark Kurlansky

Why do you think that at 67 I would start a career as a dictator ? ~ Charles De Gaulle

Men are of no importance. What counts is who commands. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I grew up to always respect authority and respect those in charge. ~ Charles De Gaulle

It is better to have a bad method than to have none. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The future does not belong to men ... ~ Charles De Gaulle

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

One must speak little. In action one must say nothing. The chief is the one who does not speak. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is Europe, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the fate of the world. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Nothing builds authority up like silence, splendor of the strong and shelter of the weak. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Deliberation is a function of the many; action is the function of one. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I'm not at all embarrassed to be a revolutionary. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Always choose the hardest way, on it you will not find opponents ~ Charles De Gaulle

The great leaders have always stage-managed their effects. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Finding a taxi, she felt like a child pressing her nose to the window of a candy store as she watched the changing vista pass by while the twilight descended and the capital became bathed in a translucent misty lavender glow. Entering the city from that airport was truly unique. Charles de Gaulle, built nineteen miles north of the bustling metropolis, ensured that the final point of destination was veiled from the eyes of the traveller as they descended. No doubt, the officials scrupulously planned the airport's location to prevent the incessant air traffic and roaring engines from visibly or audibly polluting the ambience of their beloved capital, and apparently, they succeeded. If one flew over during the summer months, the visitor would be visibly presented with beautifully managed quilt-like fields of alternating gold and green appearing as though they were tilled and clipped with the mathematical precision of a slide rule. The countryside was dotted with quaint villages and towns that were obviously under meticulous planning control. When the aircraft began to descend, this prevailing sense of exactitude and order made the visitor long for an aerial view of the capital city and its famous wonders, hoping they could see as many landmarks as they could before they touched ground, as was the usual case with other major international airports, but from this point of entry, one was denied a glimpse of the city below. Green fields, villages, more fields, the ground grew closer ~ E.A. Bucchianeri

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men. ~ Donald Rumsfeld

We are not here to laugh. ~ Charles De Gaulle

No, I'm not talking about the Russians; I mean the Germans. In spite of everything, to have pushed so far! ~ Charles De Gaulle

You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless. ~ Charles De Gaulle

[Charles de Gaulle] has been abysmally careless, like a man running a bus over mountains, who forgot to equip it with good brakes. ~ Janet Flanner

I wholeheartedly welcomed Charles de Gaulle eulogy of French valour, to which he attributed the liberation of Paris. ~ Coco Chanel

France has no friends, only interests. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Old age is a shipwreck. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power. ~ Charles De Gaulle

War stirs in men's hearts the mud of their worst instincts. It puts a premium on violence, nourishes hatred, and gives free rein to cupidity. It crushes the weak, exalts the unworthy, and bolsters tyranny ..Time and time again it has destroyed all ordered living, devastated hope, and put the prophets to death. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The leader is always alone before bad fates. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I respect only those who resist me, but I cannot tolerate them. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I predict you will sink step by step into a bottomless quagmire, however much you spend in men and money. (On Vietnam War) ~ Charles De Gaulle

He will soon be claiming that the Resistance has liberated the world. ~ Coco Chanel

The weather in Paris was unusually warm as Peter Haskell's plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport. The plane taxied neatly to the gate, and a few minutes later, briefcase in hand, Peter was striding through the airport. He was almost smiling as he got on the customs line, despite the heat of the day and the number of people crowding ahead of him in line. Peter Haskell loved Paris. ~ Danielle Steel

France was built with swords. The fleur-de-lis, symbol of national unity, is only the image of a spear with three pikes. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Now we are intimately locked together. You get swine flu in Mexico; it's a problem for Charles de Gaulle Airport 24 hours later. Lehman Brothers goes down; the whole lot collapses. There are fires in the steppes of Russia; food riots in Africa. ~ Paddy Ashdown

One does not arrest Voltaire. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French. ~ Charles De Gaulle

It is not tolerable, it is not possible, that from so much death, so much sacrifice and ruin, so much heroism, a greater and better humanity shall not emerge. ~ Charles De Gaulle

One cannot govern with 'buts'. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I feel not a person but an instrument of destiny. ~ Charles De Gaulle

No country without an atom bomb could properly consider itself independent. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Politics, when it is an art and a service, not an exploitation, is about acting for an ideal through realities. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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. ~ Charles De Gaulle

No nation has friends only interests. ~ Charles De Gaulle

How can one conceive of a one-party system in a country that has over two hundred varieties of cheese? ~ Charles De Gaulle

For all of us Frenchmen, the guiding rule of our epoch is to be faithful to France. ~ Charles De Gaulle

In war, the policy of least exertion always risks being paid for dearly. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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

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

I wouldn't mind dying for France, but not for Air France. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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

Men can have friends, statesmen cannot. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Once upon a time there was an old country, wrapped up in habit and caution. We have to transform our old France into a new country and marry it to its time. ~ Charles De Gaulle

You'll live. Only the best get killed. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Never relinquish the initiative. ~ Charles De Gaulle

A great country worthy of the name does not have any friends. ~ Charles De Gaulle

One can unite the French only under the threat of danger. One cannot simply bring together a nation that produces 265 kinds of cheese. ~ Charles De Gaulle

They really are bad shots. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Hearing Mass is the ceremony I most favor during my travels. Church is the only place where someone speaks to me and I do not have to answer back. ~ Charles De Gaulle

I have heard your views. They do not harmonize with mine. The decision is taken unanimously. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The Jackal was perfectly aware that in 1963 General de Gaulle was not only the President of France; he was also the most closely and skilfully guarded figure in the Western world. To assassinate him, as was later proved, was considerably more difficult than to kill President John F. Kennedy of the United States. Although the English killer did not know it, French security experts who had through American courtesy been given an opportunity to study the precautions taken to guard the life of President Kennedy had returned somewhat disdainful of those precautions as exercised by the American Secret Service. The French experts rejection of the American methods was later justified when in November 1963 John Kennedy was killed in Dallas by a half-crazed and security-slack amateur while Charles de Gaulle lived on, to retire in peace and eventually to die in his own home. ~ Frederick Forsyth

Authority doesn't work without prestige, or prestige without distance. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown. ~ Charles De Gaulle

All my life I have had a certain idea of France. ~ Charles De Gaulle

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. ~ Charles De Gaulle

For get this quite clear, every time we have to decide between Europe and the open sea, it is always the open sea we shall choose. Every time I have to decide between you [Charles de Gaulle] and Roosevelt, I shall always choose Roosevelt. ~ Winston S. Churchill

I am a man who belongs to nobody and who belongs to everybody. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Treaties you see are like girls and roses; they last while they last. ~ Charles De Gaulle

We may go to the moon, but that' s not very far. The greatest distance we have to cover still lies within us. ~ Charles De Gaulle

There can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential. ~ Charles De Gaulle

Character is the virtue of hard times. ~ Charles De Gaulle

The trouble with magic is that there's too much it just can't fix. When things go wrong, glimpsing junkyard faerie and crows that can turn into girls and back again doesn't help much. The useful magic's never at hand. The three wishes and the genies in bottles, seven-league boots, invisible cloaks and all. They stay in the stories, while out here in the wide world we have to muddle through as best we can on our own. ~ Charles De Lint

Indeed, the city has been excavated continuously by German archaeologists since 1906 (Kuhrt 2010, 1:234). Hattusa was located both within the center of Anatolia and the middle of the Hittite territory in a strategic hill-top position (van de Mieroop 2007, 121). As such, Hattusa was the center of Hittite religion (discussed further in depth below), and it was ideally located in the middle of Anatolia's agricultural breadbasket ~ Charles River Editors

Liberty is the right to do what the law permits. ~ Charles De Montesquieu

We're so quick to cut away pieces of ourselves to suit a particular relationship, a job, a circle of friends, incessantly editing who we are until we fit in. ~ Charles De Lint

Love is a reality which is born in the fairy region of romance. ~ Charles Maurice De Talleyrand