I only fear the death of others. For me, true death is that of the people I love

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, the finish by loading honors on your head.

The poet Paul Éluard says that to understand my film version of Beauty and the Beast, you must love your dog more than your car.

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?

Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed.

There's no such thing as love; only proof of love.

Since it's now fashionable to laugh at the conservative French Academy, I have remained a rebel by joining it.