FWIW, it's a very common saying in French. I wouldn't attribute it to Gassée.

Edit: googling it in French attributes it to Henri Queuille.

Thanks. JLG attributed it to politicians, I think, but I was (a) too lazy to find the source, but also (b) don’t speak French. I just didn’t want to appear to be taking credit for such a sharp observation.

Jacques Chirac famously used a variant of it.