It is natural to feel nostalgic for what the Empire was, just as one might regret the gentle light of oil lamps, the splendor of the fleet at sail and the charm of the temps des equipages [ship's crew]. But so what? There is no policy worth anything outside of realities.
- French President Charles de Gaulle, August 1960, speaking on the ongoing war in Algeria.
Quoted by Richard Vinen in his recent book, The Last Titans: How Churchill and de Gaulle Saved Their Nations and Transformed the World. Vinen goes on to write of de Gaulle, ". . . de Gaulle was a reactionary . . . this made him unsentimental. He looked back with regret but there was almost a playful self-conciousness about any suggestion that the past could be revived."
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