Editing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (section)

===1981 presidential election===
In the [[1981 French presidential election|1981 presidential election]], Giscard took a severe blow to his support when Chirac ran against him in the [[Two-round system|first round]].<ref name=NYTobit/> Chirac finished third and refused to recommend that his supporters back Giscard in the runoff, though he declared that he himself would vote for Giscard. Giscard lost to Mitterrand by 3 points in the runoff<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Valery-Giscard-dEstaing|title=Valery Giscard d'Estaing {{!}} president of France|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=10 November 2017}}</ref> and blamed Chirac for his defeat thereafter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/11/world/mitterrand-beats-giscard-socialist-victory-reverses-trend-of-23-years-in-france.html|title=Mitterrand Beats Giscard; Socialist Victory Reverses Trend of 23 Years in France|last1=Eder|first1=Richard|date=11 May 1981|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=10 November 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In later years, it was widely said that Giscard loathed Chirac;<ref>{{Cite news|last=Van Renterghem|first=Marion|date=1 October 2019|title=Chirac delivered little and left office under a cloud. Why does France now love him?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/01/france-jacques-chirac-death-politics|access-date=3 December 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> certainly on many occasions Giscard criticised Chirac's policies despite supporting Chirac's governing coalition.<ref name=Chirac />

While campaigning for the 1981 French election, Giscard was the target of an [[1981 Ajaccio airport bombing|attempted assassination at Ajaccio airport]] on 16 April 1981. The attack was carried out by the Gravona brigade of the [[National Liberation Front of Corsica (1976-1990)|National Liberation Front of Corsica]] (FLNC). The FLNC had recently declared a ceasefire on 1 April 1981 as not to hinder the left in the upcoming elections, but disdain for Giscard and the right was still present. The Gravona brigade, led by [[François Santoni]], placed two time bombs in the airport terminal in an area where Giscard was predicted to enter. The bombs went off two minutes after he entered the terminal, though he never entered the half of the building where the bombs were stored, and made it out unharmed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-20 |title=17 avril 1981, aéroport d'Ajaccio, une bombe contre le Président de la République. |url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/corse/17-avril-1981-aeroport-d-ajaccio-une-bombe-contre-le-president-de-la-republique-2870630.html |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=France 3 Corse ViaStella |language=fr-FR}}</ref> In a speech he delivered right after the attack, he condemned the action, calling it a "cowardly" attack and stated that it was an "attitude unworthy of Corsica."<ref>{{Cite web |date=1981-04-16 |title=Discours de M. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing à Ajaccio, lors de la campagne électorale pour l'élection présidentielle, jeudi 16 avril 1981. |url=https://www.elysee.fr/valery-giscard-d-estaing/1981/04/16/discours-de-m-valery-giscard-destaing-a-ajaccio-lors-de-la-campagne-electorale-pour-lelection-presidentielle-jeudi-16-avril-1981 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=elysee.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

Giscard's farewell speech as president became a legendary moment in French television. After delivering a solemn seven-minute address, he paused and bade a pronounced "[[Wiktionary:au revoir#French|Au revoir]]" before walking out as "[[La Marseillase]]" was played, leaving audiences to view his empty desk for the duration of the song.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 December 2020 |title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 'reformist' French president, dies at 94 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201202-val%C3%A9ry-giscard-d-estaing-modernist-french-president-dies-at-94 |access-date=1 January 2025 |work=[[France 24]] |language=en}}</ref>