Det var den franske præsident Georges Pompidou. Han havde for vane at sige - for han brød sig ikke om unyttig polemisering - at en føderation i virkeligheden blot er en vellykket konføderation.
Both Charles Pasqua and I have served a man who we admired greatly, President Georges Pompidou, who was accustomed to saying, as he did not appreciate pointless arguments, "Federation, confederation or a federation, it is all a con federation in the end" .