"I wouldn't attach too much importance to these student riots. I remember when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I used to go out and riot occasionally"
About this Quote
The Sorbonne detail is doing strategic work. It flatters his cosmopolitan credentials while turning revolt into a rite of passage for the educated classes: a Parisian anecdote, not a political emergency. That framing quietly separates “respectable” student disorder from the kind of mass politics that actually threatens order - labor movements, anti-colonial uprisings, or anything that stops being charming when it leaves the university quarter.
Context matters: Dulles helped architect the Cold War’s moral posture, selling stability as virtue and upheaval as risk. This quote reflects that worldview, but with a disarming chuckle instead of a briefing memo. The subtext is a warning to take protests seriously only when they become inconvenient - and an invitation to elites to treat dissent as performance, not pressure. It’s condescension with a well-tailored smile: history as a reassurance, rather than a reckoning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Dulles, John Foster. (2026, January 17). I wouldn't attach too much importance to these student riots. I remember when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I used to go out and riot occasionally. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wouldnt-attach-too-much-importance-to-these-80319/
Chicago Style
Dulles, John Foster. "I wouldn't attach too much importance to these student riots. I remember when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I used to go out and riot occasionally." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wouldnt-attach-too-much-importance-to-these-80319/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I wouldn't attach too much importance to these student riots. I remember when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I used to go out and riot occasionally." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wouldnt-attach-too-much-importance-to-these-80319/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
