Charles de Gaulle

The French are a people who love to be governed, but they hate to be led.

I am not a man of compromise.

Politics is the art of postponing decisions until they are no longer relevant.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

I understand that a man can be a communist, I understand that he can be a Catholic, but I do not understand how a man can be a nationalist without being a patriot.

The hardest thing for a man to do is to learn to be himself.

France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war!

I am France!

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.

You can't have a great nation without a great army.

The French people have never been more united than when they were divided.

In politics, you never know what is going to happen next. It is like a game of chess.

I am a man of the past, but I am also a man of the future.

The true statesman is the one who is able to see beyond the immediate future.

I have always believed that France has a rendezvous with destiny.

The French people are a great people, but they are also a difficult people.

I am a man of action, not a man of words.

The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.

History is full of men who have tried to change the world, and most of them have failed.

War is a terrible thing, but it is sometimes necessary.