I cannot resign myself to the decline of Europe, and of France.

Yes, the European model remains superior to that of America and Japan.

We will have to create an avant-garde.... We could have a Union for the enlarged Europe, and a Federation for the avant-garde.

The problem of how we finance the welfare state should not obscure a separate issue: if each person thinks he has an inalienable right to welfare, no matter what happens to the world, that's not equity, it's just creating a society where you can't ask anything of people.

These days there are not enough of such intermediary groups, between the state and the individual, with the result that political leaders are often unduly guided by opinion polls.

Contrary to what people say, my wife never turned me away from the presidency. She told me to reflect on it and do what I wanted.

The European model is in danger if we obliterate the principle of personal responsibility.