Francois Hollande Quotes

I could have made a fortune in cheeseburgers, but I finally chose politics.

If we don't manage to find not just a compromise but a lasting peace agreement, we know perfectly well what the scenario will be. It has a name, it's called war.

It will be very important for us to continue to keep up the necessary pressure, the necessary vigilance, for there to be peace in Ukraine, our trust in the goodwill of President (Vladimir) Putin is limited. It is why we have to maintain our decision about sanctions.

The German-French friendship is indispensable for Europe.

And I will never let myself be carried away to making statements that would change it.

A large country with such outstanding economic performance as Germany cannot forget that it owes some of its success to demand from other European countries.

To me, it's important to preserve proximity to the people.

I wouldn't do anything pretentious, and nothing that hurts the people who voted for me. Triumphalism isn't my thing.

My real adversary has no name, no face, no party.

It will never be elected, yet it governs - the adversary is the world of finance.

I am attached to the French language. I will defend the ubiquitous use of French.

I won't wait until the end of my term to say I made mistakes at the beginning.

That's too late. I will try to adopt the proper behaviour, if the French give me the chance, right from the start.

I want to initiate a change in society in the long term.

Everyone says Francois Mitterrand had huge charisma.

But before he was president they used to call him badly dressed, old, archaic and say he knew nothing about the economy until the day he was elected. It's called universal suffrage. When you're elected, you become the person that embodies France.

I attach the greatest importance to an amplification of the peace efforts in the Middle East. I would also like to see a greater dialogue between the U.S. and the EU.

The British have been particularly shy about the issues of financial regulation, and attentive only to the interests of the City - hence their reluctance to see the introduction of a tax on financial transactions and tax harmonisation in Europe.

Is France a northern European export powerhouse, or a Mediterranean indebted and dependent economy? Yes to both.

No one imposes things on anyone in Europe.

That's not my notion, nor is it my temperament. The EU has always functioned under the banner of respect, equilibrium and trust.

I have given myself one objective, to be the long-awaited successor to Francois Mitterrand.

I don't want to drive the markets crazy.

I don't want to create trouble, but rather order and rules and norms. We have to struggle against financial excesses, those who speculate with sovereign debt, those who develop financial products which have done so much harm.

Nicolas Sarkozy said he could see a wave rising. For once he was right. The wave's coming; it's high, its strong, and it's going to smack him in the face.

That is now my mission: to provide a European vision of growth, employment, prosperity - in one word, our future.

I know where I'm going and I have told the French. I am sure if hope is there, we will be able to put France back on its feet to live better in five years than we do today.

Mandela's message will never die. It will continue to inspire freedom fighters and give confidence to people who defend just causes and universal rights.

There's always a risk when the candidate becomes president: Will he deliver what is expected of him?

Each country has a soul, and France's soul is equality.

I perfectly understood President Obama's attitude throughout the French presidential campaign. He had no reason to distance himself from Nicolas Sarkozy. It's the basic solidarity that leaders who worked together owe to each other.

Germany and France are pinning their hopes on young people, in terms of education, science and innovation.

What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States. They should not be changed because of what has happened. But trust has to be restored and reinforced.

Mitterrand had a sense for symbols, and he was the first Socialist president since 1958. He wanted to show that there is historical continuity, a connection with the great figures of French history.

I am for a clear distinction between public and private life. I believe private matters should be regulated in private and I have asked those close to me to respect this.

Today, Paris is the capital of the world.

There are tensions abroad where people don't understand our attachment to the freedom of speech, we've seen the protests, and I would say that in France all beliefs are respected.

There cannot be prosperity without security.

I commit myself to serve my country.

I'm not a lukewarm European. I know that the German-French friendship is indispensable, no matter who the countries' leaders are.

Terrorism fuels itself from all kinds of illicit trafficking: drugs, weapons, human beings.

Before you, I engage myself to serve my country with the devotion and the exemplary that this post demands. I understand responsibilities of the job and, as such, I give a republican salute to Nicolas Sarkozy who has led France for 5 years and who deserves all of our respect.

We are a big country, with lots of advantages and history. We are proud to be French. We have to call on patriotism at this time... to ask for an effort in the battle against debt.

I gave myself an objective, to be the second president from Correze and finally to be the successor to Francois Mitterrand.

I am proud to have been capable of giving people hope again.

I am the president of the youth of France.

We are near, very near, to an end to the eurozone crisis... The worst - in the sense of the fear of the eurozone breaking up - is over. But the best isn't there yet.

My obligation, if I become president, is to give another direction to Europe than the one that is being forced upon us today.

Symbols mean a lot in politics. They indicate a will and create new realities.

Nothing was given to me, nothing was entrusted to me, nothing was assigned to me. Everything I have, I took by right.

We have chased away the clouds, the sky is all 'rose.'

France, after the month of May, will share trust with the current leadership of the United States which, on many subjects, has tended to take useful positions in our view.

As a president I will be like the candidate that I am, a respectful candidate, a rallying candidate, a normal candidate for a normal presidency, at the service of the Republic.

I'm going to gather all the French people who want change.

What the French want is coherence, stability and justice. If I am in a favorable position today, it's because my fellow citizens want to make the effort to straighten out the country, and at the same time they want it to be just and equitable.

My dear citizens, fellow citizens, French people, this 6th of May, have just chosen change by bringing me the presidency of the French republic. I feel the honor, which has been given to me and the task, the important task faced beyond - in front of you to serve my country.