quotations about France
And threat'ning France, plac'd like a painted Jove,
Kept idle thunder in his lifted hand.
JOHN DRYDEN
Annus Mirabilis
If Napoleon had nuclear subs, we'd all be speaking French.
MIKE MURPHY
interview with Bill Kristol, February 7, 2018
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
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
England is an empire; Germany, a country -- a race; France is a person.
JULES MICHELET
History of France
France has no friends, only interests.
CHARLES DE GAULLE
U.S. News & World Report, 1967
How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?
CHARLES DE GAULLE
attributed, Demanding Democracy
Land of mirth and dance,
Fair pleasure-seeking France!
ANNA KATHERINE GREEN
"Ode to France"
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
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
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
France is like a rock over which break all the currents and swells of history.
ANONYMOUS
London Calling, 1940
I hate France. It's like the whole country's on a diet.
GORDON KORMAN
One False Note
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
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
This was what I loved about France. A keen appreciation for the simplicity and sweetness of life.
MELANIE DOBSON
Chateau of Secrets
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
A nation of monkeys with the throat of parrots.
EMMANUEL-JOSEPH SIEYES
attributed, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations
When France has a cold, all Europe sneezes.
KLEMENS VON METTERNICH
attributed, Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations