I have against me the bourgeois, the military and the diplomats, and for me, only the people who take the Métro.

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

Adversity attracts the man of character. He seeks out the bitter joy of responsibility.

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

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

Leaders of men are later remembered less for the usefulness of what they have achieved than for the sweep of their endeavors.

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.