Charles de Gaulle

“Authority doesn't work without prestige, or prestige without distance.”

“Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.”

“Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses; they last while they last.”

“Old age is a shipwreck.”

“Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own.”

“The true statesman is the one who is willing to take risks.”

“You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.”

“I respect only those who resist me, but I cannot tolerate them.”