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From the material point of view the proposal is unacceptable, for France, without further territory in Europe being taken from her, could be so crushed as to lose her position as a Great Power, and become subordinate to German policy.

France cannot be destroyed. She is an old country who, despite her misfortunes, has, and always will have, thanks to her past, a tremendous prestige in the world, whatever the fate inflicted upon her.

I have tried to lift France out of the mud. But she will return to her errors and vomitings. I cannot prevent the French from being French.

France is no longer herself when she is folded in on herself, tormented by ignorance and intolerance. The country would plunge into decline if it refused to be itself, if it was afraid of the future, afraid of the world.

Listen, if the people in my district wanted to live in France, they'd move to France.

I live in Paris but I feel I am a daughter of Europe.

I do not separate France from Europe.

The French people need to have all the facts so they can choose. And I won't be running away from it or hiding from it.

I hoped that, you know, France wouldn't mind about, you know, the wife of their president to having a job.