Editing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (section)

===Retired from politics: 2004–2020===
[[File:Valéry Giscard d'Estaing par Claude Truong-Ngoc février 2015.jpg|thumb|upright|Giscard d'Estaing in 2015]]
In 2003, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was admitted to the [[Académie française]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/culture/20031211.OBS1099/vge-devient-immortel.html |title=VGE devient Immortel |work=Le Nouvel Observateur |date=17 December 2003 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref>

Following his narrow defeat in the [[2004 French regional elections|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 (France)|Constitutional Council]] as a former president of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095853698|access-date=2022-02-05|website=Oxford Reference|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/news/giscard-france-s-rejection-of-the-constitution-was-a-mistake/|title=Giscard: France's rejection of the Constitution was a 'mistake'|publisher=Euractiv|date=6 March 2006}}</ref> Indeed, the question of the membership of former presidents in the council was raised at this point, with some suggesting that it should be replaced by a life membership in the [[French Senate|Senate]].<ref>"[http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/0101515401-la-chiraquie-veut-proteger-son-chef-quand-il-quittera-l-elysee La Chiraquie veut protéger son chef quand il quittera l'Élysée]", ''[[Libération]]'', 14 January 2005</ref>

On 19 April 2007, he endorsed [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] for the [[2007 French presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/certain-ideas-of-europe/2007/03/21/so-chirac-finally-backed-sarkozy|title=So Chirac finally backed Sarkozy...|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=3 December 2020|date=21 March 2007}}</ref> He supported the creation of the centrist [[Union of Democrats and Independents]] in 2012 and the introduction of [[same-sex marriage in France]] in 2013.<ref name=BBCobit/> In 2016, he supported former Prime Minister [[François Fillon]] in [[2016 The Republicans (France) presidential primary|The Republicans presidential primaries]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2016/11/18/97001-20161118FILWWW00002-valery-giscard-d-estaing-soutient-francois-fillon.php|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing soutient François Fillon|work=Le Figaro|access-date=3 December 2020|date=18 November 2016|language=fr}}</ref>

A 2014 poll suggested that 64% of the French thought he had been a good president.<ref name=poll2014/> He was considered to be an honest and competent politician, but also a distant man.<ref name=poll2014>{{cite web |url=http://www.bva.fr/data/sondage/sondage_fiche/1534/fichier_bva_pour_le_parisien-aujourdhui_en_france_-_valery_giscard_destaing5dbf9.pdf |title=Fichier BVA pour Le Parisien |access-date=20 November 2016 |archive-date=24 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224031213/http://www.bva.fr/data/sondage/sondage_fiche/1534/fichier_bva_pour_le_parisien-aujourdhui_en_france_-_valery_giscard_destaing5dbf9.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<ref name=TTO/>