[48] This action was also controversial, particularly since Dacko was Bokassa's cousin and had appointed Bokassa as head of the military, and unrest continued in the Central African Republic leading to Dacko being overthrown in another coup in 1981. ", Nester, William R. "President Giscard d'Estaing", in, Shenton, Gordon. [62] Some of his actions there, such as his campaign in favour of the Treaty establishing the European Constitution, were criticised as unbecoming to a member of this council, which should embody nonpartisanship and should not appear to favour one political option over the other. 20 JAN 2021, by [119] He was also granted a coat of arms by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, for his induction as a Knight of the Seraphim. 19 JAN 2021, by He was the longest-lived French president in history (94 years and 304 days). [11], In his appointments he was innovative regarding women. We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. [57] Most of the UDF politicians supported the candidacy of the RPR Prime Minister Édouard Balladur at the 1995 presidential election, but Giscard supported his old rival Jacques Chirac, who won the election. The first President of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle, dictated each day what the news headlines of French television should be. [13], He studied at Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, École Gerson and Lycées Janson-de-Sailly and Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He is the elder son of Jean Edmond Lucien Giscard d'Estaing (29 March 1894 – 3 August 1982), a high-ranking civil servant, and his wife, Marthe Clémence Jacqueline Marie (May) Bardoux (6 May 1901 – 13 March 2003). [39] Raymond Barre, called the "best economist in France" at the time, succeeded him. Mort mercredi soir des suites du Covid, à l'âge de 94 ans, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing a marqué la société française. [12], In 1962, while Giscard had been nominated Minister of Economy and Finance, his party broke with the Gaullists and left the majority coalition. All rights reserved, Latest on Brexit He gave major cabinet positions to Simone Veil as Minister of Health and Françoise Giroud as secretary for women's affairs. [84], In May 2020, Giscard was accused of groping a German journalist's buttocks during an interview in 2018. That treaty brought back old Treaty language, including the reference to “an ever-closer union of the peoples of Europe”, which as Europe Minister, I had excised from the final text of the constitution. [30] He promoted nuclear power, as a way to assert French independence. [82], On 17 December 1952, Giscard married Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes. [85], In 2005 he and his brother bought the castle of Estaing, formerly a possession of the above-mentioned Admiral d'Estaing who was beheaded in 1794. Tim King writes POLITICO ‘s Brussels Sketch.. [11] In 1969, unlike most of FNRI's elected officials, Giscard advocated a "no" vote in the constitutional referendum concerning the regions and the Senate, while De Gaulle had announced his intention to resign if the "no" won. Daniel Johnson BIOGRAPHY Son of Edmond Giscard d'Estaing and Marthe Bardoux, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was born 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany. "Breaking the Gaullian Mould: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and the Modernisation of French Presidential Communication. He visited Mitterrand on his deathbed in 1995 to ask him to confirm his suspicion, but Mitterrand, as ever, remained elegantly ambiguous and refused to satisfy his predecessor’s curiosity. [29], He pushed for the development of the TGV high speed train network and the Minitel telephone upgrade, a precursor of the Internet. [67], On 21 January 2017, with a lifespan of 33,226 days, he surpassed Émile Loubet (1838–1929) in terms of longevity, and became the oldest former president in French history. Member of the Gaullist majority: 1962–1974, Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, "Filling the EEC leadership vacuum? [90], On 14 September 2020, Giscard d'Estaing was hospitalised for care for breathing complications at the Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou in Paris. [16] He joined the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP), a conservative grouping. Then in 2005, his long-standing rival, Chirac, got his final revenge on Giscard by holding a referendum which defeated the constitutional Treaty. [11] In 2016, he supported former Prime minister François Fillon in The Republicans presidential primaries. His presidency oversaw major reforms, including legalising abortion and contraception, despite the opposition of the Church and the Right. “It’s a clock, Monsieur le Président, and it tells you time’s up.”  He snorted in a very Giscard way and finished his point. He tried a last stab at European politics when he presided over the EU’s constitutional treaty process after 2000. His seven-year-long presidency of France from 1974, when he was elected aged 48, to 1981, when the socialist François Mitterrand took over, oversaw the transformation of this deeply traditionalist, conservative and then still Catholic country. [10][12] He was President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions from 1997 to 2004. Giscard entered and left office a young man, but his seven years as President saw more reforms in France and one of the fastest modernisations of the nation in history, as well as laying the foundations of today’s European Union. [83] In 1974, Le Monde reported that he used to leave a sealed letter stating his whereabouts in case of emergency. [56], He hoped to become prime minister during the first "cohabitation" (1986–88) or after the re-election of Mitterrand with the theme of "France united", but he was not chosen for this position. The package was not very popular, but was pursued with vigor. In that role, he lectured French citizens by holding up charts in TV broadcasts to explain the economic changes the country needed. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout the pandemic. [44] Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Cameroon were the largest and most reliable African allies, and received most of the investments. “Monsieur le President, the Albanians are a small nation just to the north of Greece, which was let into Europe 40 years ago as a small backward nation, with pre-modern politics, hopelessly corrupt, recently under military dictatorship. [35][page needed], In domestic policy, the president's reforms worried the conservative electorate and the Gaullist party, especially the law by Simone Veil legalising abortion. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. In truth, most of his provisions were incorporated in the 2008 Lisbon Treaty. ", Michel, Franck. While British journalism was falling under the sway of Rupert Murdoch and his loyal right-wing editors, who prepared the way for the decade of Thatcher’s politics, the 1968 generation of journalists and publishers in France were producing new newspapers and extending French publishing or radio stations. [60] Following his retirement from the National Assembly his son Louis Giscard d'Estaing was elected in his former constituency. Valéry Marie René Giscard d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany, during the French occupation of the Rhineland. [12] He introduced numerous small social reforms, such as reducing the voting age by three years, allowing divorce by common consent, and legalising abortion. [10][12] His two main challengers were François Mitterrand for the left and Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a former Gaullist Prime Minister. ", Criddle, B. J. [10], Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a close friend of West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and together they persuaded Europe's lesser powers to hold regular summit meetings, and set up the European Monetary System. [24] In the election, Giscard finished well ahead of Chaban-Delmas in the first round, though coming second to Mitterrand. He extended the right to political asylum, expanded health insurance to cover all Frenchmen, lowered the voting age to 18, and modernised the divorce law. [75][76][77], In 2008 he became the Honorary President of the Permanent Platform of Atomium Culture. The Airbus took off. [66], A 2014 poll suggested that 64% of the French thought he had been a good president. Already have an account with TheArticle? [11], He served as President of the UDF from 1988 to 1996, but he was faced with the rise of a new generation of politicians called the rénovateurs ("renovationmen"). Millerand held the presidency in an acting capacity before being fully elected. [102], In 2003 he received the Charlemagne Award of the German city of Aachen. [40] They induced the Soviet Union to establish a degree of liberalisation through the Helsinki Accords. DOSSIER - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, qui présida la France le temps d'un seul mandat, de 1974 à 1981, est décédé le 2 décembre 2020 des suites du Covid-19. [20] As chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Finances, he criticised his successor in the cabinet. Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (UK: /ˌʒiːskɑːr dɛˈstæ̃/,[2] US: /ʒɪˌskɑːr -/,[3][4] French: [valeʁi maʁi ʁəne ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃] (listen); 2 February 1926 – 2 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.[5]. Who will win the duel between Navalny and Putin? [12][14] He acceded to the Tax and Revenue Service, then joined the staff of Prime Minister Edgar Faure (1955–1956). [12][22], Despite his ambitions, he was unable to resolve the great economic crisis of his term, a worldwide economic recession caused primarily by a very rapid increase in oil prices. The super-brain of Valery Giscard d’Estaing (1926-2020), who had said in the aftermath of the reunification of Germany and of the European continent in 1989-90, that it was now necessary to go “faster than history” to make Europe, was the opposite of Charles de Gaulle, the French demigod, and also of the elitist Jacques Chirac. In 1975 he invited the heads of government from West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States to a summit in Rambouillet, to form the Group of Six major economic powers (now the G7, including Canada). [71] Although the Constitution was rejected by French voters in May 2005, Giscard continued to actively lobby for its passage in other European Union states. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing est décédé ce mercredi 2 décembre 2020, à l’âge de 94 ans. In 2003, he was elected to the Académie Française, taking the seat that his friend and former president of Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor had held. His tenure was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues—such as divorce, contraception, and abortion—and attempts to modernise the country and the office of the presidency, notably launching such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the TGV and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. ", "Fromer President Gerald R. Ford stands with Vice President Dick Cheney", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Edouard Balladur, Jacques Chirac's best enemies", "L'UMP tente un nouvel assaut en Auvergne", "France's New Five-Year Presidential Term", "Giscard: France's rejection of the Constitution was a 'mistake, La Chiraquie veut protéger son chef quand il quittera l'Elysée, "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing soutient François Fillon", "Le "parti de l'étranger" et "le bruit et l'odeur", les précédents dérapages de Jacques Chirac", "Lisbon Treaty made to avoid referendum, says Giscard", "Yes to simplified treaty, No to a mutilated text", "Roche regrets 'distortion' of Giscard quote on Lisbon", "Lisbon No campaign was 'dishonest' in misusing his quote, says Giscard", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Honorary President of Atomium-EISMD", "The Honorary President of Atomium Culture Valéry Giscard d'Estaing speaks at the public launch and first conference, Atomium Culture", "Atomium Culture: Bienenstock der Intelligenz – Atomium Culture – Wissen", "Highlights of the Public Launch and First Conference of Atomium-EISMD", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing : un roman et des souvenirs", "French get peek at all the presidents' women", "Hemeroteca La Vanguardia, November 30th 1974 (Spanish)", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Ex-French President, Accused of Groping Journalist", "Giscard d'Estaing a victim of chateau slump", "France's former president Giscard d'Estaing, 94, hospitalised", "El expresidente francés Giscard d'Estaing, de 94 años, hospitalizado por una infección pulmonar", "Former French President Giscard d'Estaing hospitalized", "L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est sorti de l'hôpital", L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est mort, VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING EST MORT À L'ÂGE DE 94 ANS, "French ex-president Giscard laid to rest in low-key ceremony", "Macron declares national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on December 9", "French ex-President Valery Giscard d'Estaing dies of Covid", "Merkel Mourns Loss Of 'Great European' Giscard D'Estaing", "Giscard d'Estaing: a tribute from Sassoli, Michel and Von der Leyen. [85] He denied the accusation. As former president, he was a member of the Constitutional Council. He was in the Resistance as a teenager in the war, and joined the Free French army that helped to liberate France and entered Germany. [114], "Giscard d'Estaing" redirects here. 19 JAN 2021, © 2021 TheArticle. [95][96][38] His family said that his funeral would be held in "strict intimacy". Valéry Giscard d’Estaing stretched out his long legs in the French Embassy in Brussels as he gave me his little lecture on the errors of the former British Prime Minister. [81], Giscard's name was often shortened to "VGE" by the French media. [58] That same year Giscard suffered a setback when he lost a close election for the mayoralty of Clermont-Ferrand. Giscard lost to Mitterrand by 3 points in the runoff[50] and blamed Chirac for his defeat thereafter. Sign in here. [69], From 2001 to 2004 he served as President of the Convention on the Future of Europe. [59], In 2000, he made a parliamentary proposal to reduce the length of a presidential term from seven to five years, a proposal that eventually won its referendum proposal by President Chirac. He joined the French Resistance and participated in the Liberation of Paris; during the liberation he was tasked with protecting Alexandre Parodi. [11] Nevertheless, relations with Chirac, who had founded the Rally for the Republic (RPR), became more tense. [11] He was fluent in German. Ce mercredi 2 décembre, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing est décédé des suites du Covid-19 à l'âge de 94 ans. Photograph: AFP. Under him France strongly supported the Polish trade union movement, Solidarity in 1980, which announced the end of Soviet communism. [21] The Gaullists accused him of being largely responsible for De Gaulle's departure. On 25 September 1974, Giscard summed up his goals: To reform the judicial system, modernize social institutions, reduce excessive inequalities of income, develop education, liberalize repressive legislation, develop culture. [11] He was representative of a new generation of politicians emerging from the senior civil service, seen as "technocrats". [72] In an article for Le Monde in June 2007, published in English translation by The Irish Times, he said that a "divide and ratify" approach, whereby "public opinion would be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals we dare not present to them directly", would be unworthy and would reinforce the idea that the construction of Europe was being organised behind the public's backs by lawyers and diplomats;[73][74] the quotation was taken out of context by prominent supporters of a "no" vote and distorted to give the impression that Giscard was advocating such a deception, instead of repudiating it. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing vit son confinement loin de Paris. There was increased financial aid to farmers, who were suffering from a drought, and for social security. [70] On 29 October 2004, the European heads of state, gathered in Rome, approved and signed the European Constitution based on a draft strongly influenced by Giscard's work at the convention. [11], For that reason the Gaullists refused to re-elect him to that position after the 1968 legislative election. [10] He was also known simply as l'Ex, particularly during the time he was the only living former president. Giscard d'Estaing in the centre faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left under François Mitterrand and a rising Jacques Chirac, who resurrected Gaullism on a right-wing opposition line. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing stretched out his long legs in the French Embassy in Brussels as he gave me his little lecture on the errors of the former British Prime Minister. [22], In 1974, after the sudden death of President Georges Pompidou, Giscard announced his candidacy for the presidency. ", Shields, James. [11], Unexpectedly, the right-wing coalition won the 1978 legislative election. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est mort, ce mercredi 2 décembre, à l'âge de 94 ans. France under his administration was thus the last country in the European Community and, had the United States not reinstated it, the last in the Western world to apply the death penalty. I replied politely. [12], In 2003, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was admitted to the Académie française. Giscard was born in the same year as the Queen: 1926. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, ancien président de la république (1974-1981), est décédé des suites du Covid à l’âge de 94 ans. Oil imports, whose price had shot up, were limited. [55] He has also served on the Trilateral Commission after being president, writing papers with Henry Kissinger. He wins the 1974 presidential elections by beating his opponent Francois Mitterand becoming the youngest French head of state since 1848. "Economics and politics in France: Economic performance and mass political support for Presidents Pompidou and Giscard d'Estaing. "[80] A few days before he had signed, together with the President of Atomium Culture Michelangelo Baracchi Bonvicini, the European Manifesto of Atomium Culture. [22], Throughout his political career, Giscard was a proponent of a greater European Union. The creation of the European Council in 1974. The affair was unveiled by the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné on 10 October 1979, towards the end of Giscard's presidency. [31], Economically, Giscard's presidency saw a steady rise in personal incomes, with the purchasing power of workers going up by 29% and that of old age pensioners by 65%. [18][19], However, in 1966, he was dismissed from the cabinet. Veil confronted the abortion issue.[27][28]. [11][38], A rivalry arose with his Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, who resigned in 1976. [12] His foreign policy was remembered for his close relationship with West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and together they persuaded Europe's lesser economic powers to collaborate and form new permanent organisations, especially the European Monetary System and the G-7 system. As Minister of Health she carried out other pro-women reforms. Giroud worked to improve access to meaningful employment and to reconcile careers with childbearing. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. He turned to Prime Minister Raymond Barre in 1976, who advocated numerous complex, strict policies ("Barre Plans"). On taking office Giscard was quick to initiate reforms; they included increasing the minimum wage as well as family allowances and old-age pensions. Giscard d’Estaing turned the country into a modern, exciting, dynamic, youthful nation which re-entered history. He was forced to impose austerity budgets and allow unemployment to rise in order to avoid deficits. Ce mercredi, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est décédé à l'âge de 94 ans. Giscard had in fact been De Gaulle’s finance minister, a 1960s. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing oriente la politique culturelle de la France davantage vers le patrimoine : il inaugure en 1977 la première journée « portes ouvertes » au palais de l'Élysée, tandis que les premières Journées du patrimoine sont organisées en 1980, désignée « année du patrimoine » par le gouvernement français [146], [147], [148]. [21][11], During the 1969 presidential campaign he supported the winning candidate Georges Pompidou, after which he returned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Denis MacShane [12], Giscard's private life was the source of many rumours at both national and international level. [86] However, a number of major newspapers in several countries questioned their motives and some hinted at self-appointed nobility and a usurped historical identity. [67] He was considered to be an honest and competent politician, but also a distant man. [37] He did not commute three of the death sentences that he had to decide upon during his presidency. [41], He promoted creation of the European Council at the Paris Summit in December 1974. by [49], In the 1981 presidential election, Giscard took a severe blow to his support when Chirac ran against him in the first round. Giscard had an older sister, Sylvie and younger siblings Olivier, Isabelle, and Marie-Laure. [12] In 1978, he was for this reason the obvious target of Jacques Chirac's Call of Cochin, denouncing the "party of the foreigners". [89] It tells the story of a French head of state having a romantic liaison with a character called Patricia, Princess of Cardiff. As president, Giscard d'Estaing promoted cooperation among the European nations, especially in tandem with West Germany. 4,4 sur 5 étoiles 16. He faced venomous and cynical opposition from his rival Jacques Chirac, who shamelessly pandered to the anti-European passions of the French Right as well as the Communist Left. Unlike Labour Britain in the 1970s, when an out-of-touch 1945 generation Labour government could not read or harness the new energies of the 1968 generation, Giscard opened up France. ", Kim Willsher, "Valéry Giscard d’Estaing obituary,", Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, National Centre of Independents and Peasants, National Federation of the Independent Republicans, Dacko being overthrown in another coup in 1981, Council of European Municipalities and Regions, was rejected by French voters in May 2005, "Family bid adieu to former French leader Giscard in intimate ceremony", "Giscard d'Estaing, ses mille vies en images", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former French president, dies at 94", "Giscard d'Estaing: France mourns ex-president, dead at 94", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 94, Is Dead; Struggled to Transform France", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a president of Auvergne", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: "In Wahrheit ist die Bedrohung heute nicht so groß wie damals, "Review: Barry Eichengreen, Exorbitant privilege: the rise and fall of the dollar", "The Little Phrases Of Valéry Giscard D'Estaing", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, centre-Right French President who supported a united Europe – obituary", "Key dates in the life of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing", "The Appel des 43 and the Gaullist movement: political maneuver, generational change and the rebellion of the "godillots, "France Elects Giscard President For 7 Years After A Close Contest; Left Turned Back", "France Elects Mitterrand With 52 Percent of Vote", "From TGVs to nuclear power: What Valéry Giscard d'Estaing meant to France", "Late French ex-president Giscard helped reshape Europe", "Simone Viel, Ex-Minister Who Wrote France's Abortion Laws, Dies at 89", "Ocala Star-Banner – Google News Archive Search", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing dies after COVID-1 diagnosis", "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 'reformist' French president, dies at 94", "Giscard's pro-Arab tilt splits French Jewish community", "Mixed memories of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, France's 'Monsieur Afrique, "The diamond scandal that helped bring down France's Giscard", "Valery Giscard d'Estaing | president of France", "Mitterrand Beats Giscard; Socialist Victory Reverses Trend of 23 Years in France", "Chirac delivered little and left office under a cloud. [61], Following his narrow defeat in the regional elections of March 2004, marked by the victory of the left wing in 21 of 22 regions, he decided to leave partisan politics and to take his seat on the Constitutional Council as a former president of the Republic. [54], In 1982, along with his friend Gerald Ford, he co-founded the annual AEI World Forum. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Acting heads of state are denoted by an asterisk. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing résidait dans son hôtel particulier parisien lorsqu'il a été transporté à l'hôpital pour une infection respiratoire ce lundi 14 septembre. [45] In 1977, in the Opération Lamantin, he ordered fighter jets to deploy in Mauritania and suppress the Polisario guerrillas fighting against Mauritania. Giscard got his delayed revenge when he campaigned for and won a reduction in the term of the French presidency from General de Gaulle’s seven years to five, but Chirac won two five-year terms, so died having just beaten his rival of the 1970s. [11] It was during his time at the Ministry of the Economy that he coined the phrase "exorbitant privilege" to characterise the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in international payments under the Bretton Woods system. "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: the limits of liberalism", in, This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 23:42. He promoted liberalisation of trade. [91] He was later diagnosed with a lung infection. Giscard set up the G7 with Jimmy Carter, who is still alive at 96. French version of Rishi Sunak. [22] Although France received many Chilean political refugees, Giscard d'Estaing's government secretly collaborated with Pinochet's and Videla's juntas as shown by journalist Marie-Monique Robin. [47][11], The Diamonds Affair, known in France as l'affaire des diamants, was a major political scandal in the Fifth Republic. [98] Former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande,[99] 2017 presidential candidate Marine Le Pen,[99] German Chancellor Angela Merkel,[100] and European Union leaders Charles Michel, David Sassoli, and Ursula von der Leyen all issued statements praising Giscard's efforts in modernising France and strengthening relations with the European Union. [39] Giscard reacted by founding a centre-right confederation, the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Why does France now love him?

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