Charles de Gaulle, fully Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle

[To reporters at beginning of news conference] I am ready for the questions to my answers.

[Force] is the prerequisite of movement and the midwife of progress.

There can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt.

The task of the leader is always to weigh up the circumstances, to make decisions and to give orders and then, once the action has been launched, to reassess from time to time the system of the means at his disposal, which [is] continually being modified by circumstances.

One cannot govern with “buts.”

Nothing enhances authority better than silence.

Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him.

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

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself.

The man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.

Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.