Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
China protects the Chinese, America protects the Americans, I don't see why Europe should not protect the Europeans.
The United States, for a French citizen, is a friend, an ally, to whom we owe, along with most Europeans, our freedom.
The Europe we are in the process of building is the Europe of the 21st century; it's not the Europe of the 20th century.
Prohibiting a visible religious sign, which isn't a manifestation of militancy, would look like a fight against religions.
I want to make an extremely strong appeal to those who abstained. Vote. It takes five minutes and then it's for five years.
The principal achievement of Europe is peace, which we often forget about as it has become so taken for granted by Europeans.
The people have spoken. Their decision is sovereign. We all respect it... I wish good luck to those who will now govern France.
The French are very bizarre. There is this collective depiction: 'We're in decline, we're being assailed, we must protect ourselves.'
In order to consolidate the euro we need to harmonise our economic, fiscal and social policies, hence we are going toward greater integration.
A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service.
When I first arrived at the Matignon, my desire was to reconcile Parliament and De Gaulle. I had forgotten only two things. Parliament and De Gaulle.
We must lead in a different way... We must have an active president, who gives strong direction and works with the government for its implementation.
I believe that transatlantic relations are very important and that President Bush's visit to Brussels, in a few days, will have a major impact on that.
In the last few days, I have been the victim of a campaign of slander and shameful lies, a campaign which has deeply shocked and hurt me. Enough is enough.
This assumes an upward revision of the European Budget, which is precisely what Jacques Chirac refuses to do. On the contrary, he has demanded a reduction.
The only thing that preoccupies me is that France has broken down, and we need to start up the engine again - all the way. But not so as to run into a wall.
For me, the country where I feel good, where I feel in harmony with the lifestyle and fundamental values, is the United States - more than any other country.
In a multipolar world, there must be more powers capable of taking responsibility, the US and Europe must be able to unite to achieve peace in the Middle East.
In a multipolar world, there must be more powers capable of taking responsibility, the U.S. and Europe must be able to unite to achieve peace in the Middle East.
France on its own cannot impose its point of view. But neither should it give up on its demands. With a clear vote for change France will be in a strong position.
There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians.
It's important to show that, while authorizing the demonstrations and promoting diversity of opinion, the Republic can't allow itself to be undermined from within.
I think that the proposed constitution is one of the European legal documents with the strongest social dimension I have seen since I began following European issues.
This revision of the Constitution will not be perfect. But at least the Constitution will not be inflexible. It will be a step towards the Social Europe which we wish.
There are three ways to spoil a public man: women, gambling, and listening to experts. The first is the pleasantest, the second is the fastest, but the third is the most certain.
France has a very important relationship with Germany. But that does not mean that we agree about everything or that two of our universities or companies are not going to compete.
What's very important is that we build a space that matters in the world, one that operates according to democratic rules, and that small and large countries enjoy a good relationship.
The single currency should allow the European Union, and therefore France, to balance its monetary strength with the United States. It should help us adjust to the development of China.
We must stress that the euro has been beneficial to the European Union because, otherwise, in this context of international turmoil, every country would have to devalue their currencies.
It is with great satisfaction that I learned of the adoption by consensus of the Durban Declaration against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and the intolerance associated with it
But Maastricht was not the end of history. It was a first step towards a Europe of growth, of employment, a social Europe. That was the vision of Francois Mitterrand. We are far from that now.
Let them be reassured, it has never been one of our intentions to ban religion in society, but solely to protect the national education system from any conspicuous display of religious affiliation.
This constitution recognises the need for social dialogue involving labour and management; it involves trade unions in the decision-making process; it has a social vision founded on social dialogue.
I think that we must come together progressively, with the British, the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians and with the new members of the European Union, we must make an effort to forge closer links.
When I see the cultural diversity that exists today, I feel that we must defend it, and we need Europe, because otherwise we are going to live in a society with a single model, the Anglo-American model.
In a world where the threat is asymmetrical, where the weak defy the strong, the power of conviction, the capacity to convince, the ability to sway opinion count as much as the number of military divisions.
If the only obstacle to the renewal and modernization of France is a choice of personnel, I am completely convinced that the president will make the right choice. What is at stake is not Alain Juppe but France.
Without sounding too grandiose, the survival of the planet itself is at stake, you have rising sea levels, acidification of the oceans, immigration sparked by climate change, droughts that are much more severe.
At the same time the Constitution sets in stone the Stability Pact and risks preventing member States from implementing a policy of growth. So we are not able to do things at the European or the national level.
Your city is remarkable not only for its beauty. It is also, of all the cities in the United States, the one whose name, the world over, conjures up the most visions and more than any other, incites one to dream.
There are 20 million unemployed and what does the Constitution offer us in the Europe of 25, 27 and soon to be 30: policies of unrestricted competition to the detriment of production, wages, research and innovation.
I would like to tell our American, British and Spanish friends that the Iraqi crisis is not a problem between the United States and France, but between those who want to move forward in the logic of war and the international community.
Our diplomacy ended up giving a bad conscience to an international community capable only of expressing noble sentiments while doing nothing, .. So how can one explain that we are today investigating an action our country should be proud of?.
The demographic weight of countries such as China and India exercise a massive pressure on our wages and salaries. They have accomplished massive technological advances and the revolution in information technology has reduced the costs of transport.
Sometimes I say in France: Europe is no more the center of the world - and the United States, neither. We have other key players on the international stage: China, of course; but also Brazil, India and South Africa. And their influence is very, very strong.
It's a different outlook, and one that I understand. When you are a former member of the Warsaw Pact, when you have lived behind the Berlin Wall, when you have experienced the communist systems that existed in these countries, for them, the West represents hope.
For a long time many believed that there would be an automatic adjustment and counted on a rapid increase in the wages of the emerging nations, on our advances in technology and the costs of transport preventing disruption. But this reassuring analysis is out of date.
To promote the process of European integration, we must improve an institutional mechanism already existing in the European Union, reinforced co-operation, by making it more flexible and effective. This approach allows a few states to move faster and further... We are all aware that this mechanism is vital.
I would like to stress this point undoubtedly: France sees the Arab Spring as auspicious. The Arab Spring holds out tremendous hope - hope for democracy and the rule of law, hope for peace and stability, hope for better future in which every person can pursue goals commensurate with his or her needs, talents and ambitions.
Thanks to the euro, our pockets will soon hold solid evidence of a European identity. We need to build on this, and make the euro more than a currency and Europe more than a territory... In the next six months, we will talk a lot about political union, and rightly so. Political union is inseparable from economic union. Stronger growth and Euorpean integration are related issues. In both areas we will take concrete steps forward.