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phrase

les faits sont têtus

/le fɛ sɔ̃ tɛ.ty/

phrase/le fɛ sɔ̃ tɛ.ty/

the facts of a matter are clear and unavoidable; the writing is on the wall

N'en doutons pas, comme toutes les théories fausses du passé, cette doctrine finira par être balayée par les faits, car les faits sont têtus.Let's not doubt that, like all the old false theories, this doctrine will end up being sweep aside by the facts, because facts are stubborn.

From a translation of a quote by Mark Twain: facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable (les faits sont têtus, mais les statistiques sont souples). First used in its current sense in a French translation of Vladimir Lenin's Materialism and Empirio-criticism.