Quote#Time
We need a barrier behind which, in the years to come, our people can…
Quote byGeorges Clemenceau · 1841–1929
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Prime Minister, Speech at the Paris Peace Conference (June 1919), quoted in David Robin Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (London: Eyre Methuen, 1974), p. 352.
English (original)
We need a barrier behind which, in the years to come, our people can work in security to rebuild its ruins. That barrier is the Rhine. I must take national feelings into account. That does not mean that I am afraid of losing office. I am quite indifferent on that point. But I will not, by giving up the occupation, do something which will break the willpower of our people.
— Georges Clemenceau
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