François Mitterrand

“A little disorder is a good thing.”

“There are two kinds of statesmen: the diplomats and the prophets. The diplomats have an easy time of it... but the prophets are stoned.”

“Force is the law of the beasts.”

“One does not wage war against a people, but against a government.”

“Nationalism is war.”

“History is a series of coincidences. But it is also a series of encounters.”

“You don't govern with 'good feelings,' but with a budget.”

“The future lasts a long time.”

“We must give time to time.”

“A politician is a man who can be verbose in fewer words than anyone else.”

“Europe is our homeland.”

“The union of the left is a combat.”

“The strength of an idea is in its ability to be realized.”

“I have two great qualities: I am not ambitious and I am not in a hurry.”

“I believe in the virtues of friendship, and I would not want to leave this world without having tasted them.”

“And then, in the final analysis, what does it mean to die? It is a moment of life.”

“I am the last of the great presidents.”

“The right to be different is a fundamental human right.”

“To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible.”