I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.
Charles De GaulleRead
France has no friends, only interests.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that relationships between nations are often driven by self-interest rather than genuine friendship.
Charles De Gaulle's statement emphasizes the pragmatic nature of international relations, implying that countries prioritize their own needs and objectives over emotional connections. In this perspective, alliances are formed and dissolved based on utility and strategic interests rather than true loyalty or friendship.
Themes
International RelationsPoliticsInterestsAlliancesPragmatism
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about foreign policy, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of national interests.
More from Charles De Gaulle
All quotes →Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.
Charles De GaulleRead
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.
Charles De GaulleRead
The perfection preached in the gospels never yet built an empire. Every man of action has a strong dose of egotism, pride, hardness, and cunning.
Charles De GaulleRead
One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.
Charles De GaulleRead
Soyons fermes, purs et fidèles ; au bout de nos peines, il y a la plus grande gloire du monde, celle des hommes qui n'ont pas cédé. [Let us be firm, pure and faithful; at the end of our sorrow, there is the greatest glory of the world, that of the men who did not give in.]
Charles De GaulleRead
Similar quotes
Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.
George WashingtonRead
My father joined our party because the Democrats in Jim Crow Alabama of 1952 would not register him to vote. The Republicans did.
Condoleezza RiceRead
A Republic, if you can keep it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
There is not an example on record of any free state holding a province of the same extent and population without disastrous consequences. The nations conquered and held as a province have, in time, retaliated by destroying the liberty of their conquerors through the corrupting effect of extended patronage and irresponsible power.
John C. CalhounRead
Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow. Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.
Maya AngelouRead
Political reform need not go hand in hand with economic liberalization.. I hold unconventional views about this.. I do not believe if you are a libertarian, full of diverse opinions, full of competing ideas in the market place, full of sound and fury, therefore you will succeed.
Lee Kuan YewRead