Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle; 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French military general and statesman. He was the leader of Free Franceand the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. In 1958, he founded the Fifth Republic and was elected as the 18th President of France, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. He was the dominant figure of France during the Cold War era and his memory continues to influence...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth22 November 1890
CityLille, France
CountryFrance
I predict you will sink step by step into a bottomless quagmire, however much you spend in men and money." (On Vietnam War)
Old France, weighed down with history, prostrated by wars and revolutions, endlessly vacillating from greatness to decline, but revived, century after century, by the genius of renewal!
France has lost the battle but she has not lost the war.
Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in which even greater mechanized forces will bring us victory. Therein lies the destiny of the world.
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.
Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.
I myself have become a Gaullist only little by little.
I feel not a person but an instrument of destiny.
Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back upon himself.
Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is Europe, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the fate of the world.
One cannot govern with 'buts'.
I wouldn't mind dying for France, but not for Air France.
One does not arrest Voltaire.
Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.