You have to be narcissistic to be an artist. You have to think you are the centre of the whole thing otherwise why do you create? The only thing is to recognise it, and then you make the best of it.

If people are given the chance to experience life in more than one country, they will hate a little less. It's not a miracle potion, but little by little you can solve problems in the basement of a country, not on the surface.

This clash of the culture, East and the West, us and them, Muslim and Christian, does not exist.

I wasn't made to take orders. My grandmother used to tell me: 'Laws are for idiots.' She was right.

The real war is not between the West and the East. The real war is between intelligent and stupid people.

You know, they say in France that translation is like a woman: she is either beautiful or faithful.

If you have a little sensibility or a heart, you have all the reason to be depressed once in a while. But the depression is like a motor for creation. I need a little bit of depression, a bit of acid in my stomach, to be able to create. When I'm happy, I just want to dance.