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“War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don't massacre each other.”

—  Paul Valéry

La guerre, c'est un massacre de gens qui ne se connaissent pas, au profit de gens qui se connaissent, mais ne se massacrent pas.
Bizarre, issues 24-31 (1962), p. 102
This apocryphal quote from Paul Valéry is never precisely sourced: neither on the internet nor in the works we have consulted. See: https://www.guichetdusavoir.org/question/voir/52650

Original

La guerre, c'est le massacre de gens qui ne se connaissent pas, au profit de gens qui se connaissent et ne se massacrent pas.

Cahiers = Notebooks
Variant: La guerre, c'est un massacre de gens qui ne se connaissent pas, au profit de gens qui se connaissent, mais ne se massacrent pas.
Source: This apocryphal quote from Paul Valéry is never precisely sourced: neither on the internet nor in the works we have consulted. See: https://www.guichetdusavoir.org/question/voir/52650

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

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Paul Valéry photo
Paul Valéry 89
French poet, essayist, and philosopher 1871–1945

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