FRANCE QUOTES

quotations about France

If Napoleon had nuclear subs, we'd all be speaking French.

MIKE MURPHY

interview with Bill Kristol, February 7, 2018


And threat'ning France, plac'd like a painted Jove,
Kept idle thunder in his lifted hand.

JOHN DRYDEN

Annus Mirabilis


Why don't you dance dance dance
And fall in love in France
Let's start a new romance
Ooh oh oh

ALEXANDRA STAN

"Dance", Unlocked


Everything ends this way in France. Weddings, christenings, duels, burials, swindlings, affairs of state -- everything is a pretext for a good dinner.

JEAN ANOUILH

Cécile


England is an empire; Germany, a country -- a race; France is a person.

JULES MICHELET

History of France


Land of mirth and dance,
Fair pleasure-seeking France!

ANNA KATHERINE GREEN

"Ode to France"


France has no friends, only interests.

CHARLES DE GAULLE

U.S. News & World Report, 1967


You'll have to fall in love at least once in your life, or Paris has failed to rub off on you.

E.A. BUCCHIANERI

Brushstrokes of a Gadfly


An empty butter shelf in France is like a dry baguette: deeply disconcerting.

AURELIEN BREEDEN

"France, Land of Croissants, Finds Butter Vanishing From Shelves", The New York Times, October 30, 2017


I hate France. It's like the whole country's on a diet.

GORDON KORMAN

One False Note


How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

CHARLES DE GAULLE

attributed, Demanding Democracy


Visiting France is like a trip to Disneyland, only with foie gras.

ERICA REX

"What a French Doctor's Office Taught Me About Health Care", The New York Times, January 2, 2019


I had come to the conclusion that I must really be French, only no one had ever informed me of this fact. I loved the people, the food, the lay of the land, the civilized atmosphere, and the generous pace of life.

JULIA CHILD

My Life in France


I am bored in France, especially as everyone resembles Voltaire.

CHARLES BAUDELAIRE

My Heart Laid Bare


This was what I loved about France. A keen appreciation for the simplicity and sweetness of life.

MELANIE DOBSON

Chateau of Secrets


France is like a rock over which break all the currents and swells of history.

ANONYMOUS

London Calling, 1940


You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who is still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have the face for it.

JOHN MCCAIN

FOX News, 2006


A nation of monkeys with the throat of parrots.

EMMANUEL-JOSEPH SIEYES

attributed, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations


It seemed that in Paris you could discuss classic literature or architecture or great music with everyone from the garbage collector to the mayor.

JULIA CHILD

My Life in France


When France has a cold, all Europe sneezes.

KLEMENS VON METTERNICH

attributed, Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations