--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The French don't seek out alliances…" description: "\"The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.\" — Eric Rohmer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png" --- # The French don't seek out alliances except when there are… ![“The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.” quote by Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png) > “The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.” [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He observes that the French only form alliances when faced with problems, implying a reactive rather than proactive diplomatic style. **In simple terms:** French alliances are problem‑driven. Key Takeaway Plan alliances before crises. Themes politics culture strategy Mood analytical critical Type observational political When to use this quote - international negotiations - crisis management - foreign policy Key Concepts reactive diplomacy national identity Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies wait for trouble to act? - What are the costs of reactive alliances? A Different Perspective May ignore proactive cooperation benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alliances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) [Difficulties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulties/) ## Related quotes > [Somehow, the French got this idea of the starving artist. Very romantic, except it's not so romantic for the starving artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/somehow-the-french-got-this-idea-of-the-starving-artist-very-romantic/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [The French are very individualistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-are-very-individualistic/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [America must always be the world's paramount military power, but we can magnify our power through alliances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/america-must-always-be-the-world-s-paramount-military-power-but-we/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Clearly, gay marriage is on the top of the agenda right now. It's pretty amazing, considering where stuff was at when I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/clearly-gay-marriage-is-on-the-top-of-the-agenda-right-now-it-s/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/behind-the-ostensible-government-sits-enthroned-an-invisible/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it. A great power like the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/an-alliance-is-like-a-chain-it-is-not-made-stronger-by-adding-weak/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [You cannot lead an alliance if you say you're going alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-lead-an-alliance-if-you-say-you-re-going-alone/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-behring-breivik/i-prayed-for-the-first-time-in-a-very-long-time-today-i-explained-to/) Anders Behring Breivik > [...to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/to-befoul-the-unholy-alliance-between-corrupt-business-and-corrupt/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [We are very wrong to think that some fault or other can exclude virtue, or to consider the alliance of good and evil as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/we-are-very-wrong-to-think-that-some-fault-or-other-can-exclude/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [I would be quite happy to see the Northern Alliance steam across northern Afghanistan and take Kabul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/i-would-be-quite-happy-to-see-the-northern-alliance-steam-across/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) > [The U.S. always needs an enemy. It comes and goes. Today it is Islam. According to this plan or ideology of the born-again Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walid-jumblatt/the-u-s-always-needs-an-enemy-it-comes-and-goes-today-it-is-islam/) [Walid Jumblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walid-jumblatt/) > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) ## More by Eric Rohmer > [I do not say with words. I do not say it with images either.… I do not say, I show. I show people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-do-not-say-with-words-i-do-not-say-it-with-images-either-i-do-not/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [“I never said it was her and I thought I'd seen that look before. But every time a woman looks at me it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-never-said-it-was-her-and-i-thought-i-d-seen-that-look-before-but/) [Éric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [A good film is also a documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/a-good-film-is-also-a-documentary/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [“For one never makes a film out of nothing. To shoot a film is always to shoot something, be it fiction or reality, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/for-one-never-makes-a-film-out-of-nothing-to-shoot-a-film-is-always/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [“But if I didn't read, I'd think, and thinking, when you come down to it, is the most painful thing of all...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/but-if-i-didn-t-read-i-d-think-and-thinking-when-you-come-down-to-it/) [Éric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [The French are very individualistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-are-very-individualistic/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [I don't owe my success to state subsidies but to a faithful public which has sustained me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-don-t-owe-my-success-to-state-subsidies-but-to-a-faithful-public/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [Western civilization shapes the content of my films, provides me with subjects that haven't been used before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/western-civilization-shapes-the-content-of-my-films-provides-me-with/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [You can't think of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/you-can-t-think-of-nothing/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [You have to know how to go against the trend of the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/you-have-to-know-how-to-go-against-the-trend-of-the-times/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [But if I didn't read, I'd think, and thinking, when you come down to it, is the most painful thing of all, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/but-if-i-didn-t-read-i-d-think-and-thinking-when-you-come-down-to-it-2/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [I don't think that my films are 'literary'; they are based on the most ordinary things of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-don-t-think-that-my-films-are-literary-they-are-based-on-the-most/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [I think that high art reposes on popular art, without one there cannot be another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-think-that-high-art-reposes-on-popular-art-without-one-there-cannot/) [Eric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) [Explore all 14 Eric Rohmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) ## More Alliances quotes > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [The U.S. always needs an enemy. It comes and goes. Today it is Islam. According to this plan or ideology of the born-again Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walid-jumblatt/the-u-s-always-needs-an-enemy-it-comes-and-goes-today-it-is-islam/) [Walid Jumblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walid-jumblatt/) > [I would be quite happy to see the Northern Alliance steam across northern Afghanistan and take Kabul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/i-would-be-quite-happy-to-see-the-northern-alliance-steam-across/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) > [We are very wrong to think that some fault or other can exclude virtue, or to consider the alliance of good and evil as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/we-are-very-wrong-to-think-that-some-fault-or-other-can-exclude/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [...to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/to-befoul-the-unholy-alliance-between-corrupt-business-and-corrupt/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-behring-breivik/i-prayed-for-the-first-time-in-a-very-long-time-today-i-explained-to/) Anders Behring Breivik > [You cannot lead an alliance if you say you're going alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-lead-an-alliance-if-you-say-you-re-going-alone/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it. A great power like the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/an-alliance-is-like-a-chain-it-is-not-made-stronger-by-adding-weak/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/behind-the-ostensible-government-sits-enthroned-an-invisible/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Clearly, gay marriage is on the top of the agenda right now. It's pretty amazing, considering where stuff was at when I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/clearly-gay-marriage-is-on-the-top-of-the-agenda-right-now-it-s/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [America must always be the world's paramount military power, but we can magnify our power through alliances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/america-must-always-be-the-world-s-paramount-military-power-but-we/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [ I told \[ David Lange\] he was crazy, because you can't have an alliance relationship if you refuse access to their ships. And the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/i-told-david-lange-he-was-crazy-because-you-can-t-have-an-alliance/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 389 Alliances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Rohmer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-except-when-there-are-difficulties/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alliances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-except-when-there-are-difficulties/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/eric-rohmer-33871_alliances_the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-exce_1162866.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.” — Eric Rohmer", "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": "Eric Rohmer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The French don't seek out alliances...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-except-when-there-are-difficulties/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/the-french-don-t-seek-out-alliances-except-when-there-are-difficulties/#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 } } ] } ```