We decry violence all the time in this country but look at our history. We were born in a violent revolution and we've been in wars ever since. We're not a pacific people.

In a country like France so ancient their history is full of outstanding people so they carry a heavy weight on their back. Who could write in French after Proust or Flaubert?

We've been a country that's been fortunate to be protected by two oceans to not have serious attacks on our territory for most of our history. And we were unfortunately reminded in a very devastating way of our vulnerability.

Throughout this country's history there have of course been systematic efforts to create an official underclass.

To this wonderful page in our country's history another more glorious still will be added and the slave shall show at last to his free brothers a sharpened sword forged from the links of his fetters.

Revolutions are the periods of history when individuals count most.

I don't want to go negative on Franklin Delano Roosevelt but he didn't pass an economic deal in the first 100 days. We have passed the largest Recovery Act in the history of the country.

The history of our country is cruel. We have to face those issues or should I say we had to. Not anymore I hope because we are going in the right direction and we are ready to forgive ready to move on.

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.

War had always seemed to me to be a purely human behavior. Accounts of warlike behavior date back to the very first written records of human history it seemed to be an almost universal characteristic of human groups.