Charles de Gaulle quotes

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

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

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.
- 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

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

Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French.
- 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

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

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

The graveyards are full of indispensable men.
- 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

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

The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.
- Charles De Gaulle

France has no friends, only interests.
- 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

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

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

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

When I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time.
- Charles De Gaulle