Xavier Niel

I know one business, and that's how to make software.

Telecoms is a national business. There isn't a European market. There's no Telecom Italia in France.

The most sought-after candidates in the world today by companies like mine are people who make computer software - there's a shortage of talent.

We need to create an ecosystem which will make young people want to start their own company.

If you are worried about the risk to your reputation, you don't launch a telecoms firm in an aggressive way.

It's funny how the smallest things I've done speak the loudest about me, but I like that.

France has the least social mobility of any developed country. The social elevator no longer works. It's broken.

The question for France and all countries is, 'Do you favour foreign Internet operators that do not pay, or do you favour national operators who pay?'

Nobody believed in the success of the Internet.

I'd rather people talked about the 1,000 most successful French Internet companies instead of the 5 or 10 faces we already know - including mine.

France has a specificity - the market players who provide Internet access are the telecom operators, and all of the players are French. They had a habit of, let's say, getting along with each other, and the prices traditionally were very high.

I don't think Steve Jobs had much desire to share his fortune.