--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: France has no friends, only interests." description: "\"France has no friends, only interests.\" — Charles de Gaulle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg" --- # France has no friends, only interests. ![“France has no friends, only interests.” quote by Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg) > “France has no friends, only interests.” [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nations act based on self‑interest rather than friendship. **In simple terms:** Countries prioritize interests. Key Takeaway Recognize real motives. Themes politics international relations realism Mood cautious analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - diplomacy - foreign policy - conflict resolution Key Concepts national interest power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess a country's true motives? - Can alliances be both friendly and strategic? A Different Perspective Friendship can be genuine but is rare in geopolitics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) [France Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france-friends-5857024/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends Interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-interests-954602/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests/) [No friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-friends/) ## Related quotes > [The U.S. has no friends, only interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-foster-dulles/the-u-s-has-no-friends-only-interests/) [John Foster Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-foster-dulles/) > [No nation has friends only interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/no-nation-has-friends-only-interests/) [Charles De Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [The United States of America does not have friends; it has interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-foster-dulles/the-united-states-of-america-does-not-have-friends-it-has-interests/) [John Foster Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-foster-dulles/) > [“Despite I may be surrounded by many friends, there is not one that interests me as much as you do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice/despite-i-may-be-surrounded-by-many-friends-there-is-not-one-that/) [Oscar Auliq-Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-auliq-ice/) > [You must act in your friends' interests whether it pleases them or not; the object of love is to serve, not to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/you-must-act-in-your-friends-interests-whether-it-pleases-them-or-not/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [“France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-has-lost-a-battle-but-france-has-not-lost-the-war/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [I was France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-was-france/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/as-an-adolescent-i-was-convinced-that-france-would-have-to-go-through/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [France cannot be France without greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-cannot-be-france-without-greatness/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [When you pay for stuff, it has more of your interests in heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/when-you-pay-for-stuff-it-has-more-of-your-interests-in-heart/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [What interests me is what children go through while growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/what-interests-me-is-what-children-go-through-while-growing-up/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The bit that one eates, no friend makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-bit-that-one-eates-no-friend-makes/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [No friend to Love like a long voyage at sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aphra-behn/no-friend-to-love-like-a-long-voyage-at-sea/) [Aphra Behn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aphra-behn/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) ## More by Charles de Gaulle > [Don't ask who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/don-t-ask-who-s-influenced-me-a-lion-is-made-up-of-the-lambs-he-s/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [“Have you ever seen a dictator on a run-off ballot? \[Responding to the charges of a dictatorial bent, after being forced into a run-off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/have-you-ever-seen-a-dictator-on-a-run-off-ballot-responding-to-the/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [The future does not belong to men...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-future-does-not-belong-to-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [We are not here to laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/we-are-not-here-to-laugh/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [France cannot be France without greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-cannot-be-france-without-greatness/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-politics-are-too-serious-a-matter/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Authority doesn't work without prestige, or prestige without distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/authority-doesn-t-work-without-prestige-or-prestige-without-distance/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/today-we-are-crushed-by-the-sheer-weight-of-the-mechanized-forces/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Difficulty attracts the man of character because it is in embracing it that he realizes himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/difficulty-attracts-the-man-of-character-because-it-is-in-embracing/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/only-by-coming-to-grips-with-difficulty-can-you-realize-your-full/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-you-govern-a-country-which-has-246-varieties-of-cheese/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-anyone-govern-a-nation-that-has-two-hundred-and-forty-six/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/silence-is-the-ultimate-weapon-of-power/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Nothing builds authority up like silence, splendor of the strong and shelter of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/nothing-builds-authority-up-like-silence-splendor-of-the-strong-and/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/as-an-adolescent-i-was-convinced-that-france-would-have-to-go-through/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) [Explore all 153 Charles de Gaulle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) ## More France quotes > [Vive les peuples, Vive la Republique! Vive la France!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/vive-les-peuples-vive-la-republique-vive-la-france/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“nor ground control was something of a step back for them. Furthermore, having reached France,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holland/nor-ground-control-was-something-of-a-step-back-for-them-furthermore/) [James Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holland/) > [The talk shows in the States want celebrities, not authors. In France, it is different; writers are called upon to comment on everything. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-talk-shows-in-the-states-want-celebrities-not-authors-in-france/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I have often heard that the novel is dead. But I see novels produced, I don't know how many a week, in France. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/i-have-often-heard-that-the-novel-is-dead-but-i-see-novels-produced-i/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [I'm a child of provincial France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-macron/i-m-a-child-of-provincial-france/) [Emmanuel Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-macron/) > [Creating a top team and being in a position to win the Tour de France will give me a nice feeling. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-alonso/creating-a-top-team-and-being-in-a-position-to-win-the-tour-de-france/) [Fernando Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-alonso/) > [In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-the-spring-of-1984-i-went-to-the-northwest-of-france-to-normandy/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [Luckily, he was in the process of moving to France at the time, anyway. But if he had stayed in the States, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/luckily-he-was-in-the-process-of-moving-to-france-at-the-time-anyway/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > [I was in the South of France, in Saint-Tropez and I met her when it was totally unexpected. I was very lucky because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-stern/i-was-in-the-south-of-france-in-saint-tropez-and-i-met-her-when-it/) [Bert Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-stern/) > [Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leiter/banning-the-burkini-doesn-t-produce-terrorists-but-it-does-make-the/) [Michael Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leiter/) > [ To conquer \[our enemies\] we must dare, and dare again, and dare for ever; and thus will France be saved ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-danton/to-conquer-our-enemies-we-must-dare-and-dare-again-and-dare-for-ever/) [Georges Danton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-danton/) > [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) [Browse all 1,892 France quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "France has no friends, only interests.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles de Gaulle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-has-no-friends-only-interests/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "France" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-has-no-friends-only-interests/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_france_france-has-no-friends-only-interests-318_3185969.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“France has no friends, only interests.” — Charles de Gaulle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles de Gaulle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "France has no friends, only interests.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-has-no-friends-only-interests/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-has-no-friends-only-interests/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```