Editing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

{{short description|President of France from 1974 to 1981}}
{{redirect|Giscard d'Estaing||Giscard d'Estaing (surname)}}
{{family name hatnote|Giscard d'Estaing|d'Estaing}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1975).jpg
| alt                 = Giscard d'Estaing, 49, in a monochrome portrait
| caption             = Giscard d'Estaing in 1975
| office              = [[President of France]]
| term_start          = 27 May 1974
| term_end            = 21 May 1981
| primeminister       = {{ubl|[[Jacques Chirac]]|[[Raymond Barre]]}}
| predecessor         = [[Georges Pompidou]]
| successor           = [[François Mitterrand]]
| office1             = [[President of the Regional Council (France)|President of the Regional Council]] {{nowrap|of [[Regional Council of Auvergne|Auvergne]]}}
| term_start1         = 21 March 1986
| term_end1           = 2 April 2004
| predecessor1        = Maurice Pourchon
| successor1          = Pierre-Joël Bonté
| office2             = [[Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France)|Minister of the Economy and Finance]]
| term_start2         = 20 June 1969
| term_end2           = 27 May 1974
| primeminister2      = {{ubl|[[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]]|[[Pierre Messmer]]}}
| predecessor2        = [[François-Xavier Ortoli]]
| successor2          = [[Jean-Pierre Fourcade]]
| term_start3         = 18 January 1962
| term_end3           = 8 January 1966
| primeminister3      = {{ubl|[[Michel Debré]]|Georges Pompidou}}
| predecessor3        = Wilfrid Baumgartner
| successor3          = Michel Debré
| office4             = [[Mayor (France)|Mayor]] of [[Chamalières]]
| term_start4         = 15 September 1967
| term_end4           = 19 May 1974
| predecessor4        = Pierre Chatrousse
| successor4          = Claude Wolff
| office5             = President of the [[Union for French Democracy]]
| term_start5         =30 June 1988
| term_end5           = 31 March 1996
| predecessor5        = [[Jean Lecanuet]]
| successor5         = [[François Léotard]]
| 1namedata6          = {{see below|{{slink||Offices and distinctions}}}}
| birth_name          = Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=y|1926|2|2}}
| birth_place         = [[Koblenz]], [[French-occupied Germany]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=y|2020|12|2|1926|2|2}}
| death_place         = [[Authon, Loir-et-Cher]], France
| resting_place       = Authon Cemetery, Authon<ref>{{cite news |title=Family bid adieu to former French leader Giscard in intimate ceremony |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.metro.us/family-bid-adieu-to/ |website=Metro US |date=5 December 2020 |access-date=18 December 2020 |quote=Giscard's coffin was carried to the church in Authon, central France, by four pall bearers, draped in the flags of France and the European Union ... He will be buried close to the grave of his daughter in a private plot next to the village's cemetery.}}</ref>
| party               = {{ubl|[[National Centre of Independents and Peasants|CNIP]] (1956–1962)|[[Independent Republicans|FNRI]] (1966–1977)|[[Republican Party (France)|PR]] (1977–1995)|[[Union for French Democracy|UDF]] (1978–2002)|[[Popular Party for French Democracy|PPDF]] (1995–1997)|[[Liberal Democracy (France)|DL]] (1997–1998)|[[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] (2002–2004)}}
| otherparty          = 
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing|Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes]]|17 December 1952}}
| children            = 4, including {{enum|[[Henri Giscard d'Estaing|Henri]] | [[Louis Giscard d'Estaing|Louis]]}}
| alma_mater          = {{ubl|[[École Polytechnique]]|[[École nationale d'administration|ENA]]}}
| signature           = Valéry Giscard d'Estaing signature.svg
<!--Military career-->| nickname            = 
| allegiance          = [[Free France]]
| branch              = [[Free French Forces]]
| serviceyears        = 1944–1945
| rank                = {{ill|Brigadier-chef|fr|italic=1|v=ib}}
| unit                = 
| commands            = 
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[France during World War II|World War II]]
**[[Liberation of Paris]]
{{tree list/end}}
| mawards             = ''[[Croix de Guerre 1939–1945]]''
}}

'''Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|ʒ|iː|s|k|ɑːr|_|d|ɛ|ˈ|s|t|ã}},<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Giscard+d%27Estaing,+Val%C3%A9ry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902010658/http://www.lexico.com/definition/Giscard+d%27Estaing,+Val%C3%A9ry/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-09-02 |title=Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ʒ|ɪ|ˌ|s|k|ɑːr|_|-}};<ref>{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|Giscard d'Estaing|access-date=30 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|Giscard d'Estaing|access-date=30 June 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|valeʁi ʁəne maʁi ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃|lang|Fr-Valery-Giscard-d-Estaing.ogg}}; 2 February 1926{{spnd}}2 December 2020), also known as simply '''Giscard''' or '''VGE''', was a French politician who served as [[President of France]]  from 1974 to 1981.<ref>He was also ''[[ex officio]]'' [[co-prince of Andorra]].</ref>

After serving as [[Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France)|Minister of Finance]] under prime ministers [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]] and [[Pierre Messmer]], Giscard d'Estaing won the [[1974 French presidential election|presidential election of 1974]] with 50.8% of the vote against [[François Mitterrand]] of the [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]]. His tenure was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues—such as divorce, contraception and abortion—and by attempts to modernise the country and the office of the presidency, notably overseeing such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the [[TGV]] and the turn towards reliance on [[nuclear power]] as France's main energy source. Giscard d'Estaing launched the [[Grande Arche]], [[Musée d'Orsay]], [[Arab World Institute]] and [[Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie]] projects in the Paris region, later included in the [[Grands Projets of François Mitterrand]]. He promoted liberalisation of trade; however, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the [[1973 energy crisis]], marking the end of the "[[Trente Glorieuses]]" (the "Thirty Glorious Years" of prosperity after 1945). He imposed austerity budgets, and allowed unemployment to rise in order to avoid deficits. Giscard d'Estaing in the centre faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left under Mitterrand and a rising [[Jacques Chirac]], who resurrected [[Gaullism]] on a right-wing opposition line. In 1981, despite a high approval rating, he was [[1981 French presidential election|defeated in a runoff against Mitterrand]], with 48.2% of the vote.

As president, Giscard d'Estaing promoted cooperation among the European nations, especially in tandem with [[West Germany]], 1974–1982 ruled by the [[First Schmidt cabinet|first]], [[Second Schmidt cabinet|second]] and [[Third Schmidt cabinet|third cabinet]] under [[Chancellor of Germany|chancelor]] [[Helmut Schmidt]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]). 

As a former president, he was a member of the [[Constitutional Council (France)|Constitutional Council]]. He also served as [[President of the Regional Council (France)|president of the Regional Council]] of [[Regional Council of Auvergne|Auvergne]] from 1986 to 2004. Involved with the process of [[European integration]], he notably presided over the [[Convention on the Future of Europe]] that drafted the ill-fated [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]]. In 2003, he was elected to the {{lang|fr|[[Académie Française]]|italic=no}}, taking the seat that his friend and former president of Senegal [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]] had held. He died at the age of 94, and is the longest-lived French president in history.
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Early life and ancestry==
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/4190491/Deces_2020_M12.zip |title=Fichier des décès au mois de décembre 2020 |trans-title=Death file for the month of December 2020 |publisher=National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies |access-date=26 January 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> was born on 2 February 1926 in [[Koblenz]], [[Weimar Republic|Germany]], during the French [[occupation of the Rhineland]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Safran|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B8iJNlWcdIUC&q=Val%C3%A9ry+Giscard+d%27Estaing+1926&pg=PA170|title=Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1995|isbn=978-0-313-28623-0|editor-last=Wilsford|editor-first=David|location=Westport|page=170}}</ref> He was the elder son of Jean Edmond Lucien Giscard d'Estaing, a high-ranking civil servant, and his wife, Marthe Clémence Jacqueline Marie (May) Bardoux.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilpost.it/2020/12/02/morto-valery-giscard-destaing-presidente-francia/|title=Morto Valéry Giscard d'Estaing|work=Il Post|language=it|date=2 December 2020}}</ref> His mother was the daughter of senator and academic [[Jacques Bardoux|Achille Octave Marie Jacques Bardoux]], and a granddaughter of minister of state education [[Agénor Bardoux]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senat.fr/senateur-3eme-republique/bardoux_jacques1008r3.html|title=Profile: Bardoux, Jacques|publisher=[[French Senate]]|access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 1940s.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|Giscard d'Estaing in the 1940s]]
Giscard had an elder sister, Sylvie, and younger siblings [[Olivier Giscard d'Estaing|Olivier]], Isabelle, and Marie-Laure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fr.news.yahoo.com/val%C3%A9ry-giscard-destaing-vie-carri%C3%A8re-225400045.html|language=fr|title=Giscard d'Estaing, ses mille vies en images|publisher=[[Yahoo]]|date=2 December 2020}}</ref> Despite the addition of "d'Estaing" to the family name by his grandfather, Giscard was not a male-line descendant of the extinct aristocratic family of [[Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing|Vice-Admiral d'Estaing]].<ref name="WPO">{{cite news|last=Hoagland|first=Jim|date=2 December 2020|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former French president, dies at 94|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/valery-giscard-destaing-dead/2020/12/02/62511218-34ec-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205015110/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/valery-giscard-destaing-dead/2020/12/02/62511218-34ec-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html|archive-date=5 December 2020|access-date=5 December 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> His connection to the [[D'Estaing family]] was very remote. His ancestress was Lucie Madeleine d'Estaing, Dame de Réquistat (1769–1844), who in turn was descendant of Joachim I d'Estaing, sieur de Réquistat (1610–1685), illegitimate son of Charles d'Estaing (1585–1661), sieur de Cheylade, [[Knights Hospitaller|Knight of Saint John of Jerusalem]], son of Jean III d'Estaing, seigneur de Val (1540–1621) and his wife, Gilberte [[Duc de La Rochefoucauld|de La Rochefoucauld]] (1560–1623).<ref>{{cite web |title=Jean III d'Estaing, seigneur de Val |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Jean-III-d-Estaing-seigneur-de-Val/6000000001275450368 |year=1540}}</ref>

Giscard studied at the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in [[Clermont-Ferrand]], the École Gerson and the Lycées [[Lycée Janson-de-Sailly|Janson-de-Sailly]] and [[Lycée Louis-le-Grand|Louis-le-Grand]] in Paris.<ref name=edu>{{cite web|url=https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/politique/valery-giscard-d-estaing-un-president-auvergnat-1569338800|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a president of Auvergne|publisher=Francebleu|language=fr|date=2 December 2020}}</ref>

He joined the [[French Resistance]] and participated in the [[Liberation of Paris]]; during the liberation, he was assigned to protecting [[Alexandre Parodi]].<ref name="BBCobit">{{cite web|date=2 December 2020|title=Giscard d'Estaing: France mourns ex-president, dead at 94|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13062449|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205210604/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13062449|archive-date=5 December 2020|access-date=5 December 2020|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> He then joined the [[Free French Forces|French]] [[First Army (France)|First Army]] and served until the end of the war.<ref name=BBCobit/> He was later awarded the [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)|Croix de guerre]] for his military service.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/valery-giscard-destaing-dead.html|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 94, Is Dead; Struggled to Transform France|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2 December 2020}}</ref>

In 1948, he spent a year in [[Montreal]], Canada, where he worked as a teacher at [[Collège Stanislas (Quebec)|Collège Stanislas]].<ref>''Mon tour de jardin'', Robert Prévost, p. 96, Septentrion 2002</ref>

He graduated from the [[École Polytechnique]] and the [[École nationale d'administration]] (1949–1951) and chose to enter the prestigious [[Inspection générale des finances (France)|Inspection des finances]].<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=edu/> He was admitted to the Tax and Revenue Service, then joined the staff of Prime Minister [[Edgar Faure]] (1955–1956).<ref name=BBCobit/> He was fluent in German.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/valery-giscard-d-estaing-in-wahrheit-ist-die-bedrohung-heute-nicht-so-gross-wie-damals-13925996.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2|language=de |title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: "In Wahrheit ist die Bedrohung heute nicht so groß wie damals" |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |date=15 November 2016 |access-date=20 November 2016|last1=Wiegel |first1=Michaela |last2=Figaro) |first2=Charles Jaigu (Le }}</ref>

==Early political career==

===First offices: 1956–1962===
In 1956, he was elected to the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] as a deputy for the [[Puy-de-Dôme]] ''département'', in the domain of his maternal family.{{sfn|Thody|2002|p=68}} He joined the [[National Centre of Independents and Peasants]] (CNIP), a conservative grouping.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/15b88a8c-1207-42a7-84a4-73b07cda0edb.pdf|title=Pays Emergents|publisher=ECPR.edu|access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> After the proclamation of the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]], the CNIP leader [[Antoine Pinay]] became Minister of Economy and Finance and chose him as Secretary of State for Finances from 1959 to 1962.<ref name=NYTobit/>

===Member of the Gaullist majority: 1962–1974===
[[File:Meeting with Finance Minister of France. Giscard D'Estaing, President Kennedy. White House, Oval Office. - NARA - 194179.jpg|right|thumb|Giscard with US president [[John F. Kennedy]] at the [[White House]] in 1962]]
[[File:Valery Giscard D'estaing com Emílio Médici, em visita ao Brasil, 1971.tif|thumb|Giscard d'Estaing (center) with Brazilian president [[Emílio Garrastazu Médici]] (left) in Brazil, 1971]]
In 1962, while Giscard had been nominated [[Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France)|Minister of Economy and Finance]], his party broke with the Gaullists and left the majority coalition.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=WPO/> Giscard refused to resign and founded the [[Independent Republicans]] (RI), which became the junior partner of the Gaullists in the "presidential majority".<ref name=BBCobit/> It was during his time at the Ministry of the Economy that he coined the phrase "[[exorbitant privilege]]" to characterise the hegemony of the US dollar in international payments under the [[Bretton Woods system]].<ref name="books.google.fr">{{Cite book|last=Eichengreen|first=Barry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIlpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|title=Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System|date=2011-01-07|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-978148-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Siddiqu |first1=Khubaib |title=Review: Barry Eichengreen, Exorbitant privilege: the rise and fall of the dollar |url=https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Book-Review-5-May-2012.pdf |website=Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific |publisher=Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade |access-date=5 December 2020 |date=May 2012}}</ref>

However, in 1966, he was dismissed from the cabinet.<ref name=NYTobit/> He transformed the RI into a political party, the [[Independent Republicans|National Federation of the Independent Republicans]] (FNRI), and founded the [[Perspectives and Realities Clubs]].<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=BBCobit/> In this, he criticised the "solitary practice of the power" and summarised his position towards De Gaulle's policy by a "yes, but ...".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://goodwordnews.com/the-little-phrases-of-valery-giscard-destaing/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305070335/https://goodwordnews.com/the-little-phrases-of-valery-giscard-destaing/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=5 March 2021|title=The Little Phrases Of Valéry Giscard D'Estaing|publisher=Good Word News|access-date=3 December 2020|date=3 December 2020}}</ref> As chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Finances, he criticised his successor in the cabinet.<ref name=BBCobit/>

For that reason the Gaullists refused to re-elect him to that position after the [[1968 French legislative election|1968 legislative election]].<ref name=BBCobit/> In 1969, unlike most of FNRI's elected officials, Giscard advocated a "no" vote in the [[1969 French constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] concerning the regions and the Senate, while De Gaulle had announced his intention to resign if the "no" won.<ref name=breakup/> The Gaullists accused him of being largely responsible for De Gaulle's departure.<ref name=breakup>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/lo/countries/fr/fr_political.html|title=Commanding Heights|publisher=[[PBS]]|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref><ref name=BBCobit/>

During the [[1969 French presidential election|1969 presidential campaign]], he supported the winning candidate [[Georges Pompidou]], after which he returned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.<ref name=BBCobit/> He was representative of a new generation of politicians emerging from the senior civil service, seen as "[[Technocracy|technocrats]]".<ref name=TTO>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/12/03/valery-giscard-destaing-centre-right-french-president-supported/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/12/03/valery-giscard-destaing-centre-right-french-president-supported/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, centre-Right French President who supported a united Europe – obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=3 December 2020|date=2 December 2020|last1=Obituaries|first1=Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Presidential election victory ===
In 1974, after the sudden death of President Georges Pompidou, Giscard announced his candidacy for the presidency.<ref name=WPO/><ref name=NYTobit/> His two main challengers were [[François Mitterrand]] for the left and [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]], a former Gaullist prime minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201203-key-dates-in-the-life-of-former-french-president-val%C3%A9ry-giscard-d-estaing|title=Key dates in the life of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing|date=3 December 2020|publisher=France24|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> [[Jacques Chirac]] and other Gaullist personalities published the {{ill|Call of the 43|fr|Appel des 43}} where they explained that Giscard was the best candidate to prevent the election of Mitterrand.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-parlements1-2007-1-page-109.htm|title=The Appel des 43 and the Gaullist movement: political maneuver, generational change and the rebellion of the "godillots"|journal=Parlement[s], Revue d'histoire politique |volume=7 |issue=1 |publisher=Cairn|access-date=3 December 2020|last1=Pozzi |first1=Jérôme |doi=10.3917/parl.007.0109 }}</ref> In [[1974 French presidential election|the election]], Giscard finished well ahead of Chaban-Delmas in the first round, though coming second to Mitterrand.<ref name=BBCobit/> In the run-off on 20 May, however, Giscard narrowly defeated Mitterrand, receiving 50.7% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=France Elects Giscard President For 7 Years After A Close Contest; Left Turned Back|first=Flora|last=Lewis|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70617FF3959127A93C2AB178ED85F408785F9|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 May 1974|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227013534/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70617FF3959127A93C2AB178ED85F408785F9|archive-date=27 February 2014}}</ref>

==President of France==
[[File:Jimmy Carter and Giscard d'Estaing, 01-05-1978 restored.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Giscard d'Estaing (right) with US president [[Jimmy Carter]] (left) in 1978]]

In 1974, Giscard was elected [[President of France]], defeating Socialist candidate François Mitterrand by 425,000&nbsp;votes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Koven|first1=Ronald|date=11 May 1981|title=France Elects Mitterrand With 52 Percent of Vote|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/05/11/france-elects-mitterrand-with-52-percent-of-vote/9e92953e-4a95-4bbd-8c7f-1e3a19446a73/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> At 48, he was the third youngest president in French history at the time, after [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]] and [[Jean Casimir-Perier]].<ref name=BBCobit/>

In his appointments, he was innovative regarding women.  He gave major cabinet positions to [[Simone Veil]] as Minister of Health and [[Françoise Giroud]] as secretary for women's affairs. Giroud worked to improve access to meaningful employment and to reconcile careers with childbearing. Veil confronted the abortion issue.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shenton|first=Gordon|year=1976|title=The Advancement of Women in Giscard d'Estaing's "Advanced Liberal Society"|journal=[[The Massachusetts Review]]|volume=17|issue=4|pages=743–762|issn=0025-4878|jstor=25088694}}</ref><ref>Frears, 1981, 150–153.</ref>

===Domestic policy===
On taking office, Giscard was quick to initiate reforms; they included increasing the minimum wage as well as family allowances and old-age pensions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gregg |first=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9z0AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |title=Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and how America Can Avoid a European Future |date=2013 |publisher=Encounter Books |isbn=978-1-59403-637-8 |language=en}}</ref> 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.  On 25 September 1974, Giscard summed up his goals: 
{{quote|To reform the judicial system, modernize social institutions, reduce excessive inequalities of income, develop education, liberalize repressive legislation, develop culture.<ref>Quoted in {{cite journal |mode=cs2 |author=Gordon Shenton|title=The Advancement of Women in Giscard d'Estaing's 'Advanced Liberal Society'|journal=The Massachusetts Review|year=1976|volume=17|issue=4|page=749 |jstor=25088694}}.</ref>}}

He pushed for the development of the [[TGV]] [[High-speed rail|high speed train]] network and the [[Minitel]] telephone upgrade, a precursor of the Internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitepages.fr/telecom-history-minitel.html |title=History of the Minitel |publisher=Whitepages.fr |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> He promoted [[Nuclear power in France|nuclear power]], as a way to assert French independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20201203/what-valery-giscard-destaing-meant-to-france|title=From TGVs to nuclear power: What Valéry Giscard d'Estaing meant to France|publisher=The Local|language=fr|access-date=3 December 2020|date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

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%.<ref>{{cite book|author=D. L. Hanley |author2=Miss A P Kerr |author3=N. H. Waites |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cmuIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=Contemporary France: Politics and Society Since 1945 |via=Google Books |year=2005 | publisher=Routledge |access-date=20 November 2016|isbn = 978-1-134-97423-8}}</ref>

The great crisis that overwhelmed his term was a worldwide economic crisis based on rapidly rising oil prices. He turned to Prime Minister [[Raymond Barre]] in 1976, who advocated numerous complex, strict policies ("Barre Plans"). The first Barre plan emerged on 22 September 1976, with a priority to stop inflation. It included a 3-month price freeze; a reduction in the value added tax; wage controls; salary controls; a reduction of the growth in the money supply; and increases in the income tax, automobile taxes, luxury taxes and bank rates.  There were measures to restore the trade balance, and support the growth of the economy and employment. Oil imports, whose price had shot up, were limited. There was special aid to exports, and an action fund was set up to aid industries. There was increased financial aid to farmers, who were suffering from a drought, and for social security. The package was not very popular, but was pursued with vigor.<ref>J.R. Frears, ''France in the Giscard Presidency'' (1981) p. 135.</ref>

Giscard initially tried to project a less monarchical image than had been the case for past French presidents.<ref name=TTO/> He took a ride on the [[Paris Métro|Métro]], ate monthly dinners with ordinary Frenchmen, and even invited garbage men from Paris to have breakfast with him in the [[Élysée Palace]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-paris-coronavirus-pandemic-france-angela-merkel-ab6d66d7891fd86cfef381bb3d998be4|title=Late French ex-president Giscard helped reshape Europe|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=3 December 2020}}</ref> However, when he learned that most Frenchmen were somewhat cool to this display of informality, Giscard became so aloof and distant that his opponents frequently attacked him as being too far removed from ordinary citizens.<ref>{{cite book|title=The World Today 2013: Western Europe|last=Thompson|first=Wayne C.|publisher=Stryker-Post Publications|location=Lanham, Maryland|date=2013|isbn=978-1-4758-0505-5}}</ref>{{page needed|date=December 2020}}

In domestic policy, Giscard's reforms worried the conservative electorate and the [[Gaullism|Gaullist]] party, especially the law by [[Simone Veil]] legalising abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/world/europe/simone-veil-dead.html|title=Simone Viel, Ex-Minister Who Wrote France's Abortion Laws, Dies at 89|work=The New York Times|date=30 June 2017}}</ref> Although he said he had "deep aversion against capital punishment", Giscard claimed in his 1974 campaign that he would apply the death penalty to people committing the most heinous crimes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=05ATAAAAIBAJ&pg=5404,5279889|title=Ocala Star-Banner – Google News Archive Search}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He did not commute three of the death sentences that he had to decide upon during his presidency. France under his administration was thus [[Capital punishment in France|the last country]] in the European Community to apply the death penalty, and until the [[Gary Gilmore|resumption of executions in the United States]] in 1977, the only one in the Western world. The [[Hamida Djandoubi|last death sentence]], bearing Giscard's signature, was executed in September 1977, the [[Philippe Maurice|last ratified]] by the [[Court of Cassation]] in March 1981, but rescinded by presidential pardon after Giscard's defeat in the presidential election in May.<ref name=BBCobit/><ref name=TGO/>

A rivalry arose with his Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, who resigned in 1976.<ref name=Chirac>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201202-val%C3%A9ry-giscard-d-estaing-modernist-french-president-dies-at-94|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 'reformist' French president, dies at 94|date=2 December 2020|access-date=5 December 2020|publisher=[[France 24]]}}</ref> [[Raymond Barre]], called the "best economist in France" at the time, succeeded him.<ref name=BBCobit/>

Unexpectedly, the right-wing coalition won the [[1978 French legislative election|1978 legislative election]].<ref name=BBCobit/> Nevertheless, relations with Chirac, who had founded the [[Gaullist Party|Rally for the Republic]] (RPR), became more tense.<ref name=Chirac /> Giscard reacted by founding a centre-right confederation, the [[Union for French Democracy]] (UDF).<ref name=WPO/>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Carter guadeloupe cropped.png|thumb|Giscard d'Estaing with German chancellor [[Helmut Schmidt]] (left), US president [[Jimmy Carter]] (second from left) and British prime minister [[James Callaghan]] (right) at the [[Guadeloupe Conference]] in 1979]]

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a close friend of West German chancellor [[Helmut Schmidt]] and together they persuaded smaller European states to hold regular summit meetings, and set up the [[European Monetary System]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Story|first=Jonathan|date=September 1988|title=The Launching of the EMS: An Analysis of Change in Foreign Economic Policy|journal=[[Political Studies (journal)|Political Studies]]|language=en|volume=36|issue=3|pages=397–412|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.1988.tb00238.x|s2cid=145630563|issn=0032-3217}}</ref> They induced the Soviet Union to establish a degree of liberalisation through the [[Helsinki Accords]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Willsher|first1=Kim|date=2020-12-03|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing obituary|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/03/valery-giscard-destaing-obituary|access-date=2020-12-06|work=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref>

He promoted the creation of the [[European Council]] at the Paris Summit in December 1974. 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 Seven|Group of Six]] major economic powers (now the G7, including Canada and the European Union).<ref>Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, "Filling the EEC leadership vacuum? The creation of the European Council in 1974", ''Cold War History'' 10.3 (2010): 315-339.</ref>

In 1975, Giscard pressured the future King of Spain [[Juan Carlos I]] to leave Chilean dictator [[Augusto Pinochet]] out of his coronation by stating that if Pinochet attended he would not.<ref name=TTO/> Although France received many Chilean political refugees, Giscard d'Estaing's government secretly collaborated with [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Pinochet's]] and [[National Reorganization Process|Videla's junta]]s as shown by journalist [[Marie-Monique Robin]].<ref>[http://www.algeria-watch.org/fr/article/div/livres/escadrons_mort_conclusion.htm Conclusion] of [[Marie-Monique Robin]]'s ''Escadrons de la mort, l'école française'' {{in lang|fr}}/ [http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/2926696/ Watch here film documentary] (French, English, Spanish)</ref>

Giscard d'Estaing sought to improve Franco-Romanian ties and in 1979 visited [[Bucharest]]. In 1980 he received Romanian president [[Nicolae Ceaucescu]] as a guest in Paris.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abraham |first1=Florin |title=Romania Since the Second World War A Political, Social and Economic History |date=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=60}}</ref>

====Africa====
Giscard continued de Gaulle's [[Françafrique|African policy]], and sought to maintain good relations with Middle East Muslim countries so that they would continue delivering oil to France.<ref>{{cite web |last=Girardet |first=Edward |title=Giscard's pro-Arab tilt splits French Jewish community |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0407/040744.html |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=7 April 1980 |access-date=10 August 2023}}</ref> Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Cameroon were the largest and most reliable African allies, and received most of the investments.<ref> Frears, John R., ''France in the Giscard Presidency'' (1981) pp. 109–127.</ref> In 1977, in [[Opération Lamantin]], he ordered fighter jets to deploy in [[Mauritania]] and suppress the [[Polisario Front|Polisario]] guerrillas fighting against the Mauritanian government.<ref name=NYT1979>{{cite web |title=France Reinforces Garrison in Senegal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/03/archives/france-reinforces-garrison-in-senegal-effort-intended-to-help-free.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 November 1977}}</ref>

The most important advisor on African affairs during the Giscard era was [[René Journiac]], successor of [[Jacques Foccart]] at the Secretariat for African and Malagasy Affairs, which was renamed to the "{{ill|African Department|fr|Cellule africaine de l'Élysée}}" (''Cellule africaine''). Journiac largely continued Foccart's approach of maintaining French influence in its [[French colonial empire|former colonies]] through a web of personal relationships with African [[Political strongman|strongmen]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=de La Guérivière |first=Jean |title=La mort de M. René Journiac |website=[[Le Monde]] |date=8 February 1980 |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1980/02/08/la-mort-de-m-rene-journiac_2813720_1819218.html |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Servenay |first=David |date=2023 |editor-last1=Borrel |editor-first1=Thomas |editor-last2=Boukari-Yabara |editor-first2=Amzat |editor-last3=Collombat |editor-first3=Benoît |editor-last4=Deltombe |editor-first4=Thomas |title=Une histoire de la Françafrique: L'empire qui ne veut pas mourir |publisher=[[Éditions du Seuil|Seuil]] |pages=504-505 |chapter=Foccart, Marenches, Journiac : trois « crocodiles » dans le marigot du renseignement franco-africain |isbn=9782757897751}}</ref> In 1977, documents forgotten by the [[mercenary]] [[Bob Denard]] during [[1977 Benin coup attempt|a coup attempt]] in [[Benin]] suggested that Denard's group had received support from official channels, namely through Journiac.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bat |first=Jean-Pierre |date=2016 |title=Le secteur N (Afrique) et la fin de la Guerre froide |url=https://shs-cairn-info.acces.bibl.ulaval.ca/revue-relations-internationales-2016-1-page-43 |journal=Relations internationales |volume=165 |issue=1 |pages=43-56 |doi=10.3917/ri.165.0043 |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref>

Most controversial was Giscard's involvement with the regime of [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]] in the [[Central African Empire|Central African Republic]].<ref name=RFI>{{cite web|url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20201203-mixed-memories-of-val%C3%A9ry-giscard-d-estaing-france-s-monsieur-afrique|title=Mixed memories of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, France's 'Monsieur Afrique'|date=3 December 2020 |publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> Giscard was initially a friend of Bokassa, and supplied the regime.<ref name=RFI/> The growing unpopularity of that government led Giscard to begin distancing himself from Bokassa.<ref name=RFI/> In 1979's [[Operation Caban]], French troops helped drive Bokassa out of power and restore former president [[David Dacko]] to power.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Richard |last2=Fandos-Rius |first2=Juan |title=Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSxIDAAAQBAJ&q=Giscard++Bokassa+David+Dacko&pg=PA129 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |date=27 May 2016 |isbn=978-0-8108-7992-8}}</ref> This action was also controversial, particularly given that Dacko was Bokassa's cousin and had appointed Bokassa as head of the military; and unrest continued in the Central African Republic, leading to [[1981 Central African Republic coup d'état|Dacko being overthrown in another coup in 1981]].<ref name=RFI/><ref name=BBCobit/>

The [[Diamonds Affair]], known in France as ''l'affaire des diamants'', was a major political scandal in the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]]. In 1973, while [[Ministry of Economics and Finance (France)|Minister of Finance]], Giscard d'Estaing was given a number of diamonds by Bokassa. The affair was unveiled by the satirical newspaper ''[[Le Canard Enchaîné]]'' on 10 October 1979, towards the end of Giscard's presidency.

In order to defend himself, Giscard d'Estaing claimed to have sold the diamonds and donated the proceeds to the [[Central African Red Cross Society|Central African Red Cross]]. He expected CARC authorities to confirm the story. However, the head of the local Red Cross society, [[Jeanne-Marie Ruth-Rolland]], publicly denied the French claims. Ruth-Rolland was quickly dismissed from her post in what she described as a ''"coup de force"'' by Dacko.<ref name="Dictionary2">{{cite book |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Richard |last2=Fandos-Rius |first2=Juan |title=Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |edition=new |date=2016 |pages=550–551 |isbn=978-0-8108-7991-1}}</ref> The saga contributed to Giscard losing his [[1981 French presidential election|1981 reelection bid]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The diamond scandal that helped bring down France's Giscard |url=https://news.yahoo.com/diamond-scandal-helped-bring-down-162628468.html |publisher=Yahoo! News}}</ref>

====Soviet Union====
Giscard d'Estaing fancied himself a peace-maker with the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet Union and their embroilment in Afghanistan]]. At their summit in May 1980, he proposed an arrangement that would see [[Leonid Brezhnev]] partially withdraw his forces and thought the latter had agreed, only to be humiliated in front of his G7 partners when Brezhnev fooled him with a lie. His Socialist rival, [[François Mitterrand]], acidly observed in the [[Assemblée Nationale]] that he was the "petit télégraphiste de Varsovie" ("little telegraph operator from Warsaw").<ref name="branda23">{{cite news |last1=Branda |first1=Pierre |title="L'histoire des relations franco-russes aurait dû nous enseigner la prudence" |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/histoire/l-histoire-des-relations-franco-russes-aurait-du-nous-enseigner-la-prudence-20230330 |publisher=Le Figaro |date=30 March 2023}}</ref>

===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>

==Post-presidency==

===Return to politics: 1984–2004===
[[File:Valéry Giscard d'Estaing05b.jpg|thumb|upright|Giscard d'Estaing in 1986]]
After his defeat, Giscard retired temporarily from politics.<ref name=regain/> In 1984, he was re-elected to his seat in the National Assembly<ref name=regain>{{Cite news|last=Prial|first=Frank J.|date=24 September 1984|title=Giscard Regains Seat in Parliament|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/24/world/giscard-regains-seat-in-parliament.html|access-date=3 December 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and won the presidency of the [[Regional council (France)|regional council]] of [[Auvergne (région)|Auvergne]].<ref name=WPO/><ref name=NYTobit/> He was president of the [[Council of European Municipalities and Regions]] from 1997 to 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/n80045870/valery-giscard-destaing/|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

In 1982, along with his friend [[Gerald Ford]], he co-founded the annual [[AEI World Forum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/images/20061226-2_07fordv6560-24w-515h.html|title=Former President Gerald R. Ford stands with Vice President Dick Cheney|publisher=The [[White House|Bush White House]]|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> He also served on the [[Trilateral Commission]] after being president, writing papers with [[Henry Kissinger]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eismd.eu/governance/presidency/|title=VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING|publisher=EISMD.eu|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

He hoped to become [[Prime Minister of France|prime minister]] during the first "[[Cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]]" (1986–1988) or after the re-election of Mitterrand with the theme of "France united", but he was not chosen for this position.<ref name=BBCobit/> During the [[1988 French presidential election|1988 presidential campaign]], he refused to choose publicly between the two right-wing candidates, his two former Prime Ministers [[Jacques Chirac]] and [[Raymond Barre]].<ref name=BBCobit/>

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'' ("renovation men").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2009/04/16/01002-20090416ARTFIG00364-vingt-ans-apres-les-renovateurs-.php|title=Vingt ans après, les rénovateurs|work=Le Figaro|date=16 April 2009|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> Most of the UDF politicians supported the candidacy of the RPR Prime Minister [[Édouard Balladur]] at the [[1995 French presidential election|1995 presidential election]], but Giscard supported his old rival Jacques Chirac, who won the election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique/jacques-chirac/valery-giscard-d-estaing-et-edouard-balladur-les-meilleurs-ennemis-de-jacques-chirac_3633329.html|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Edouard Balladur, Jacques Chirac's best enemies|publisher=France TV|access-date=3 December 2020|date=29 September 2019}}</ref> That same year Giscard suffered a setback when he lost a close election for the mayoralty of [[Clermont-Ferrand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2008/02/07/01002-20080207ARTFIG00006-l-ump-tente-un-nouvel-assaut-en-auvergne.php |title=L'UMP tente un nouvel assaut en Auvergne |work=Le Figaro |date=7 February 2008 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name=term>{{cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/frances-new-five-year-presidential-term/|title=France's New Five-Year Presidential Term|date=1 March 2001|publisher=Brooking Institute}}</ref> Following his retirement from the National Assembly his son [[Louis Giscard d'Estaing]] was elected in his former  constituency.<ref name=NYTobit/>

===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/>

==European activities==
[[File:EPP 2004 Poettering - d'Estaing - Chabert.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Giscard d'Estaing (centre) at the [[European People's Party#Congress|EPP Congress]] in Brussels, 2004]]

Throughout his political career, Giscard was a proponent of a greater amount of [[European integration]] in the [[European Economic Community|European Community]] (in what would become the European Union).<ref name=NYTobit/> In 1978, he was for this reason the obvious target of [[Jacques Chirac]]'s [[Call of Cochin]], denouncing the "party of the foreigners".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/politique/365864-20091124-parti-etranger-le-bruit-odeur-precedents-derapages-jacques-chirac |title=Le "parti de l'étranger" et "le bruit et l'odeur", les précédents dérapages de Jacques Chirac |work=20 Minutes |date=24 November 2009 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref>

From 1989 to 1993, Giscard served as a [[member of the European Parliament]].<ref name=MEP/> From 1989 to 1991, he was also chairman of the [[European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (European Parliament group)|Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group]].<ref name=MEP>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/archive/alphaOrder/view.do?language=EN&id=1030 |title=List of all current and former Members |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref>

From 2001 to 2004, he served as president of the [[Convention on the Future of Europe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cvce.eu/en/histoire-orale/unit-content/-/unit/2d4abfa8-10c0-484f-bc8c-b625ea0de121/32ad31cf-c727-422c-9275-1d1d704849c0/Resources|title=GISCARD D'ESTAING (Valéry)|publisher=CVCE.edu|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> On 29 October 2004, the [[Council of the European Union|heads of government of the European Union]] gathered in Rome, approved and signed the [[European Constitution]] based on a draft strongly influenced by Giscard's work at the convention.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sabine Verhest |url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/valery-giscard-d-estaing-l-europeen-51b87e7fe4b0de6db9a8c8aa |title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing l'Européen |publisher=La Libre.be |date=17 June 2003 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> Although the Constitution [[2005 French European Constitution referendum|was rejected by French voters in May 2005]], Giscard continued to actively lobby for its passage in other EU states.<ref name=lisbon/>

Giscard d'Estaing attracted international attention at the time of the [[Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008|June 2008 Irish vote]] on the [[Treaty of Lisbon|Lisbon Treaty]].<ref name=lisbon>{{cite web|url=https://euobserver.com/institutional/25052|title=Lisbon Treaty made to avoid referendum, says Giscard|work=EUobserver|date=29 October 2007 |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> 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;<ref name=lemonde2007>{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2007/06/14/le-traite-simplifie-oui-mutile-non-par-valery-giscard-d-estaing_923139_3232.html |title="Le Traité simplifié, oui, mutilé, non", par Valéry Giscard d'Estaing |work=Le Monde |date=14 June 2007 |access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Giscard d'Estaing |first1=Valéry |title=Yes to simplified treaty, No to a mutilated text |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/yes-to-simplified-treaty-no-to-a-mutilated-text-1.1211261 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=3 December 2020 |date=20 June 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Tony |title="Saying No". An Analysis of the Irish Opposition to the Lisbon Treaty |url=http://www.iiea.com/documents/Saying%20No-publication-IIEA-Tony%20Brown.pdf |website=Institute of International and European Affairs |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306080810/http://www.iiea.com/documents/Saying%20No-publication-IIEA-Tony%20Brown.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Roche regrets 'distortion' of Giscard quote on Lisbon |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/roche-regrets-distortion-of-giscard-quote-on-lisbon-1.836056 |access-date=3 December 2020 |publisher=The irish Times |date=13 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lisbon No campaign was 'dishonest' in misusing his quote, says Giscard |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/lisbon-no-campaign-was-dishonest-in-misusing-his-quote-says-giscard-1.1272035 |access-date=3 December 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=26 June 2008}}</ref>

In 2008, he became the honorary president of the [[Atomium - European Institute for Science, Media and Democracy|Atomium - European Institute for Science and Democracy]].<ref name=atom>{{cite web|url=https://www.eismd.eu/valery-giscard-destaing-honorary-president-of-atomium-eismd/|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Honorary President of Atomium-EISMD|publisher=EISMD.eu|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> On 27 November 2009, Giscard publicly launched the institute during its first conference, held at the European Parliament,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atomiumculture.eu/node/261|title=The Honorary President of Atomium Culture Valéry Giscard d'Estaing speaks at the public launch and first conference, Atomium Culture|publisher=Atomiumculture.eu|access-date=3 June 2011}}</ref> declaring: "European intelligence could be at the very root of the identity of the European people."<ref>{{cite web|author=Von Joachim Müller-Jung|url=https://www.faz.net/s/RubCEA270411FF84533BCAF137CD8BFB763/Doc~E0C76C99CFA4D44B3BE5DD0FBEEF7F179~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html|title=Atomium Culture: Bienenstock der Intelligenz – Atomium Culture – Wissen|work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|date=27 November 2009|access-date=3 June 2011}}</ref> A few days before he had signed, together with the President of the institute  [[Michelangelo Baracchi Bonvicini]], the [[Atomium - European Institute for Science, Media and Democracy|European Manifesto of Atomium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eismd.eu/highlights-of-the-public-launch-and-first-conference-of-atomium-eismd/|title=Highlights of the Public Launch and First Conference of Atomium-EISMD|publisher=EISMD.eu|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Giscard's name was often shortened to "VGE" by the [[Mass media in France|French media]].<ref name=WPO/> He was also known simply as ''l'Ex'', particularly during the time he was the only living former president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: un roman et des souvenirs |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/mon-figaro/2011/10/16/10001-20111016ARTFIG00196-valery-giscard-d-estaing-un-roman-et-des-souvenirs.php |access-date=5 December 2020 |work=Le Figaro |date=16 October 2011}}</ref>

On 17 December 1952, Giscard married [[Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing|Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes]]. The couple had four children.<ref name=NYTobit/>

Giscard's private life was the source of many rumours at both national and international level.<ref name=affairs/> His family did not live in the presidential [[Élysée Palace]], and ''[[The Independent]]'' reported on his affairs with women.<ref name=affairs>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/french-get-peek-at-all-the-presidents-women-1142633.html|title=French get peek at all the presidents' women|last=Lichfield|first=John|date=3 February 1998|work=The Independent|access-date=17 January 2014}}</ref> In 1974, ''[[Le Monde]]'' reported that he used to leave a sealed letter stating his whereabouts in case of emergency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1974/11/30/pagina-21/34239133/pdf.html?search=giscard+coche+accidente|title=Edición del sábado, 30 noviembre 1974, página 21 - Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es|website=La Vanguardia}}</ref>

In May 2020, Giscard was accused of groping a German journalist's buttocks during an interview in 2018.<ref name=NYTSH>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/world/europe/german-journalist-valery-giscard-destaing.html|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Ex-French President, Accused of Groping Journalist|work=[[The New York Times]]|first1=Aurelien|last1=Breeden|first2=Christopher F.|last2= Schuetze|date=8 May 2020|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> He denied the accusation.<ref name=NYTSH/>

===Possession of the Estaing castle===
[[File:Estaing - Chateau 4.jpg|left|upright|thumb|The Estaing castle in 2007]]
In 2005 he and his brother bought the castle of [[Estaing, Aveyron|Estaing]], formerly a possession of the above-mentioned Admiral d'Estaing who was beheaded in 1794.<ref name=BBCobit/><ref name=castle>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/giscard-destaing-a-victim-of-chateau-slump-881406.html|title=Giscard d'Estaing a victim of chateau slump|date=31 July 2008|publisher=The Independent.uk|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> The brothers never used the castle as a residence but for its symbolic value, and they explained the purchase, supported by the local municipality, as an act of patronage.<ref name=castle/> However, a number of major newspapers in several countries questioned their motives and some hinted at self-appointed nobility and a usurped historical identity.<ref>''Le Monde'' 24 December 4, AFP Toulouse 23 December 4, ''Le Figaro'' 22 January 5, ''[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]]'' 15 February 5, ''The Sunday Times'' 16 January 05</ref><ref name=castle/> The castle was put up for sale in 2008 for €3&nbsp;million<ref name=castle/> and is now the property of the Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tourisme-aveyron.com/en/diffusio/sites-visit/chateau-d-estaing-estaing_TFO16017250270|title=CHÂTEAU D'ESTAING|publisher=Agence de Développement Touristique de l'Aveyron|access-date=4 December 2020}}</ref>

===2009 novel===
Giscard wrote his second romantic novel, published on 1 October 2009 in France, entitled ''The Princess and the President''.<ref name=diana/> It tells the story of French President Jacques-Henri Lambertye having a romantic liaison with Patricia, Princess of Cardiff of the British royal family.<ref name=diana/> This fuelled rumours that the piece of fiction was based on a real-life liaison between Giscard and [[Diana, Princess of Wales]].<ref name=diana>{{cite web|url=http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1074|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005083530/http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1074|archive-date=5 October 2009|title=Giscard hints at affair with Diana|work=Connexion|date=21 September 2009|access-date=3 June 2011}}</ref> He later stressed that the story was entirely made up and no such affair had actually occurred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1082|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005175525/http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1082|archive-date=5 October 2009|title=Giscard: I made up Diana love story|work=Connexion|date=24 September 2009|access-date=3 June 2011}}</ref>

==Illness and death==
On 14 September 2020, Giscard d'Estaing was hospitalised for care for breathing complications at the [[Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou]] in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200914-france-s-former-president-giscard-d-estaing-94-hospitalised|title=France's former president Giscard d'Estaing, 94, hospitalised|work=France24|date=14 September 2020|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> He was later diagnosed with a [[lung infection]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-expresidente-frances-giscard-destaing-94-anos-hospitalizado-infeccion-pulmonar-202009141918_noticia.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F|title=El expresidente francés Giscard d'Estaing, de 94 años, hospitalizado por una infección pulmonar|work=ABC|location=Spain|access-date=4 October 2020|date=14 September 2020|language=es}}</ref> He was hospitalised again on 15 November,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/former-french-president-giscard-destaing-hospitalized/2046022|title=Former French President Giscard d'Estaing hospitalized|publisher=Anadolu Agency|date=16 November 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> but was discharged on 20 November.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/politique/l-ancien-president-valery-giscard-d-estaing-est-sorti-de-l-hopital-20-11-2020-8409512.php|title=L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est sorti de l'hôpital|work=Le Parisien|date=20 November 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>

Giscard d'Estaing died from complications attributed to [[COVID-19]] on 2 December 2020, at the age of 94.<ref name=WPO/><ref name=TGO>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/former-french-president-valery-giscard-destaing-dies-aged-94|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing dies from Covid-19 complications|work=The Guardian|date=2 December 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est mort des suites du Covid|url=https://www.europe1.fr/politique/lancien-president-valery-giscard-destaing-est-mort-4009616|access-date=2022-02-05|website=Europe 1|date=2 December 2020 |language=fr}}</ref> His family said that his funeral would be held in "strict intimacy".<ref name=BBCobit/> His funeral and burial was held on 5 December in Authon with forty people attending the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20201205/french-ex-president-giscard-laid-to-rest-in-low-key-ceremony|title=French ex-president Giscard laid to rest in low-key ceremony|publisher=The Local|language=fr|access-date=7 December 2020|date=6 December 2020}}</ref>

President [[Emmanuel Macron]] released a statement describing Giscard d'Estaing as a "servant of the state, a politician of progress and freedom";<ref name=BBCobit/> the president declared a national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on 9 December.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/macron-declares-national-day-of-mourning-for-giscard-destaing-on-december-9/ar-BB1bBOqk|date=4 December 2020|access-date=5 December 2020|publisher=[[France 24]]|title=Macron declares national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on December 9}}</ref> Former presidents [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] and [[François Hollande]],<ref name=reaction>{{cite web|url=https://www.laprensalatina.com/french-ex-president-valery-giscard-destaing-dies-of-covid/|title=French ex-President Valery Giscard d'Estaing dies of Covid|publisher=La Prensalatina|access-date=3 December 2020|date=3 December 2020}}</ref> [[2017 French presidential election|2017 presidential]] candidate [[Marine Le Pen]],<ref name=reaction/> German chancellor [[Angela Merkel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/merkel-mourns-loss-of-great-european-giscard-d-estaing-01606987504?tesla=y|title=Merkel Mourns Loss Of 'Great European' Giscard D'Estaing|date=3 December 2020|access-date=3 December 2002|publisher=Barrons}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.agensir.it/quotidiano/2020/12/3/giscard-destaing-a-tribute-from-sassoli-michel-and-von-der-leyen-a-great-european-who-will-keep-inspiring-us/|title=Giscard d'Estaing: a tribute from Sassoli, Michel and Von der Leyen. "A great European who will keep inspiring us"|publisher=[[Agensir]]| access-date=3 December 2020|date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Giscard d'Estaing was seen as the pioneer in modernising France and strengthening the European Union.<ref name=NYTobit/> He introduced numerous small social reforms, such as reducing the voting age by three years, allowing divorce by common consent, and legalising abortion.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=BBCobit/> He was committed to supporting innovative technology, and focused on creating the [[TGV]] high-speed rail network, promoting nuclear power, and developing the telephone system.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=TTO/>

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.<ref name=NYTobit/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-03|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing obituary|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/03/valery-giscard-destaing-obituary|access-date=2022-02-05|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

In December 2022, Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing put up some of her late husband's art and furniture for sale at [[Hotel Drouot]]: the collection included a [[Auguste Rodin|Rodin]] bust of [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing sale reveals his aristocratic tastes |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/valery-giscard-destaing-sale-reveals-his-aristocratic-tastes-89rsv6n39 |website=Times |access-date=13 December 2022|last1=Paris |first1=Adam Sage }}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
[[File:Armes Valery Giscard d'Estaing (Ordre du Seraphin).svg|thumb|upright|Giscard d'Estaing's [[coat of arms]] as a [[knight]] of the Swedish [[Royal Order of the Seraphim|Order of the Seraphim]]]]
[[File:FanionGiscard.png|thumb|upright|[[Presidential standard of France|Presidential standard]] of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]

===National honours ===
* Grand-croix (''and former Grand Master'') of the [[Legion of Honour]]<ref name="Acad">{{Cite web|title=Valéry GISCARD d'ESTAING|url=http://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/valery-giscard-destaing|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205205125/http://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/valery-giscard-destaing|archive-date=5 December 2020|access-date=5 December 2020|website=[[Académie française]]}}</ref>
* Grand-croix (''and former Grand Master'') of the [[Ordre National du Mérite]]<ref name="Acad" />
* [[Croix de Guerre 1939–1945]]<ref name="Acad" />

===European honours===
In 2003, he received the [[Charlemagne Prize]] of the German city of [[Aachen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citymayors.com/features/charlemagne.html|title=Europe's premier Parliamentarian receives 2004 Charlemagne Prize|publisher=City Mayors|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> He was also a [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Knight of Malta]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2014/03/14/former-french-president-valery-giscard-destaing-visits-the-holy-family-hospital-in-bethlehem/|title=Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing Visits the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem|date=14 March 2014|publisher=Order of Malta|access-date=3 December 2020|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306050028/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2014/03/14/former-french-president-valery-giscard-destaing-visits-the-holy-family-hospital-in-bethlehem/}}</ref>

===Foreign honours===

* {{flagcountry|State of Bahrain}}: Grand Collar of the Order Al Khalifa (1980)
* {{flagcountry|Brazilian military government}}: Grand Collar of the [[Order of the Southern Cross]] (26 April 1976)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblioteca.presidencia.gov.br/publicacoes-oficiais/catalogo/geisel/viagem-do-pr-geisel-a-franca-abril-1976/@@download/file/Viagem%20do%20PR%20Geisel%20%C3%A0%20Fran%C3%A7a%20-%20abril%201976.pdf |title=Viagem do PR Geisel à França |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Brazil|1968}}: Collar of the [[Order of Rio Branco]] (1978)
* {{flagu|Brazil|1968}}: Medal of the [[National Congress of Brazil]] (1978)
* {{flagu|Cameroon}}: Gran Cross of the [[Order of Valour]] (1979)
* {{flagu|Central African Republic}}: Gran Cross of the [[Order of Central African Merit]] (1976)
* {{flagu|Chad}}: Collar of the National Order of Chad (1974)
* {{flagu|Colombia}}: Gran Cross of the [[Order of Boyaca]] (1979)
* {{flagu|Denmark}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Elephant]] (12 October 1978)<ref>borger.dk, Ordensdetaljer, [https://bdkv2.borger.dk/foa/Sider/default.aspx?fk=26&foaid=10198496&paid= Valéry Giscard d'Estaing] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121217233118/https://bdkv2.borger.dk/foa/Sider/default.aspx?fk=26&foaid=10198496&paid= |date=17 December 2012 }}, Hans Excellence, fhv. præsident for Republikken Frankrig</ref><ref>[http://picasaweb.google.com/117249909899697033351/Danemark#5330894817349820466 Coat of arms] in the chapel of Frederiksborg Castle</ref>
* {{flagu|Egypt|1972}}: Collar of the [[Order of the Nile]] (1975)
* {{flagu|Finland}}: Grand Cross with Collar of the [[Order of the White Rose of Finland]] (1 June 1980)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/rk-julkaisut/docs/suomen_valkoisen_ruusun_ritarikunnan_suurristin_ke|title=List of Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland 1919-1994. Edited by Klaus Castrén}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* {{flagu|Gabon}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Equatorial Star]] (1976)
* {{flagcountry|West Germany}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] (1975)
* {{flagu|Germany}}: Medal of the [[Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg]] (2005)
* {{flagu|Greece}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Redeemer]] (1975)
* {{flagu|Guinea}}: Grand Cross of the [[National Order of Merit (Guinea)]] (1978)
* {{flagcountry|Pahlavi Iran}}: Collar of the [[Order of Pahlavi]] (1976)
* {{flagu|Italy}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]] (10/1973)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana|url=https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/34901|access-date=2022-02-05|website=quirinale.it}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Ivory Coast}}: Grand Cross of the [[National Order of the Ivory Coast]] (1976)
* {{flagu|Jordan}}: Collar of the [[Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali]] (1980)
* {{flagu|Saudi Arabia}}: Collar of the [[Order of King Abdulaziz]] (1977)
* {{flagu|Kuwait}}: Collar of the [[Order of Mubarak the Great]] (1980)
* {{flagu|Luxembourg}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau]] (1978)
* {{flagu|Mali}}: Grand Cross of the [[National Order of Mali]] (1977)
* {{flagu|Mexico}}: Collar of the [[Order of the Aztec Eagle]] (1979)
* {{flagu|Morocco}}: Collar of the [[Order of Muhammad]] (1975)
* {{flagu|Monaco}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint-Charles]] (1976)
* {{flagu|Norway}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St. Olav]] (1962)
* {{flagu|Oman}}: Collar of the [[Order of Oman]] (1980)
* {{flagu|Panama}}: Gran Cross of the [[Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] (1979)
* {{flagcountry|Polish People's Republic}}: Gran Cordon of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]] (1975)
* {{flagu|Portugal}}: Grand Collar of the [[Order of Saint James of the Sword]] (14 October 1975)<ref name="Port">{{Cite web |title=ENTIDADES ESTRANGEIRAS AGRACIADAS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas |url=https://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154&list=1 |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.ordens.presidencia.pt}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Portugal}}: Grand Collar of the [[Order of Prince Henry]] (21 October 1978)<ref name="Port" />
* {{flagu|Qatar}}: Collar of the [[Order of Independence|Collar of the Order of Independence]] (1980)
* {{flagcountry|Socialist Republic of Romania}}: Medal of the [[Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic]] (1979)
* {{flagu|Rwanda|1962}}: Gran Cross of the Order of Milles Collines (1977)
* {{flagu|Senegal}}: Grand Cross of the [[National Order of the Lion]] (1978)
* {{flagcountry|Francoist Spain}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]] (1963)<ref>{{Cite web|title=BOE.es - BOE-A-1963-10075 Decreto 1038/1963, de 18 de abril, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica al señor Valery Giscard d'Estaing.|url=https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-1963-10075|access-date=2022-02-05|website=boe.es}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Spain|1945}}: Knight with Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1976)<ref>{{Cite web|title=BOE.es - BOE-A-1976-21450 Real Decreto 2452/1976, de 26 de octubre, por el que se concede el Collar de la Orden de Isabel la Católica al excelentísimo señor Valery Giscard D'Estaing, Presidente de la República Francesa.|url=https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-1976-21450|access-date=2022-02-05|website=boe.es}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Spain|1977}}: Knight with Collar of the [[Order of Charles III]] (1978)<ref>{{Cite web|title=BOE.es - BOE-A-1978-18087 Real Decreto 1679/1978, de 28 de junio, por el que se concede el Collar de la Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III al excelentísimo señor Valéry Giscard D'Estaing, Presidente de la República Francesa.|url=https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-1978-18087|access-date=2022-02-05|website=boe.es}}</ref>
* {{flagu|Sudan}}: Grand Cordon of the [[National Order of the Republic of Sudan]] (1977)
* {{flagu|Sweden}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Seraphim]] (6 June 1980)
* {{flagu|Togo}}: Gran Cross of the [[Order of Mono]] (1980)
* {{flagu|Tunisia|1959}}: [[Grand Cordon]] of the Order of Independence (1975)
* {{flagu|United Arab Emirates}}: Gran Cordon of the Order of Al-Nahayyan (1980)
* {{flagu|United Kingdom}}: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Bath]] (22 June 1976)<ref>{{cite web |title=22nd June 1976: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh with President Valery Giscard d'Estaing of France and his wife before a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. |url= https://www.alamy.com/22nd-june-1976-queen-elizabeth-ii-and-the-duke-of-edinburgh-with-president-valery-giscard-destaing-of-france-and-his-wife-before-a-state-banquet-at-buckingham-palace-image268816707.html |website=Alamy}}</ref>
* {{flagu|United States|1912}}: [[Bronze Star Medal]] (1945)
* {{flagcountry|Republic of Venezuela}}: Collar of the [[Order of the Liberator]] (1980)
* {{flagu|Yemen}}: Gran Cordon of the Order of the Republic of Yemen (1980)
* {{flag|Yugoslavia}}: Great Star of the [[Order of the Yugoslav Star]] (1976)
* {{flag|Zaire}}: Gran Cordon of the [[National Order of the Leopard]] (1975)

===Other honours===
* {{flagu|Sovereign Order of Malta}}: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]<ref name=malta>{{cite web|url=https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/valery-giscard-d-estaing|title=Valéry Giscard d'Estaing|publisher=Conseil Constitutionnel|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>
* {{Flagu|Sovereign Order of Malta}}: Grand Cross ''[[Order pro merito Melitensi|pro Merito Melitensi]]''<ref name=malta/>

=== International awards ===
* [[Nansen Refugee Award]], 1979.<ref>{{cite book|title=International Who's Who 1989–90|chapter=Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry |year=1935 |isbn=978-0-946653-50-8|publisher=Europa Publications}}</ref><ref>[http://static.iris.net.co/semana/upload/documents/Documento_402497_20140912.pdf List of Nansen Refugee Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225025056/http://static.iris.net.co/semana/upload/documents/Documento_402497_20140912.pdf |date=25 February 2021 }} [[United Nations High Commission for Refugees]]</ref>

===Heraldry===
Giscard d'Estaing was granted a [[coat of arms]] by Queen [[Margrethe II of Denmark]] upon his appointment to the [[Order of the Elephant]].<ref>[https://www.borger.dk/foa/Sider/default.aspx?fk=24&foaid=213 Official list of knights of the Order of the Elephant] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716132419/https://www.borger.dk/foa/Sider/default.aspx?fk=24&foaid=213 |date=16 July 2011 }}. {{in lang|da}}</ref> He was also granted a coat of arms by King [[Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden]], for his induction as a Knight of [[Order of the Seraphim|the Seraphim]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book|last=Thody|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Thody|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuWGAgAAQBAJ|title=The Fifth French Republic: Presidents, Politics and Personalities: A Study of French Political Culture|date=31 January 2002|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-134-66154-1|language=en}}

==Further reading==
* Bell, David et al. eds. ''Biographical Dictionary of French Political Leaders Since 1870'' (1990) pp 181–185.
* Bell, David. ''Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France'' (2000) pp 127–48.
* Cameron, David R. "The dynamics of presidential coalition formation in France: from Gaullism to Giscardism." ''Comparative Politics'' 9.3 (1977): 253-279 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/421319 online].
* Criddle, B. J. "Valéry Giscard D'Estaing." in ''The Year Book Of World Affairs, 1980'' (Sweet & Maxwell, 1980) pp.&nbsp;60–75.
* Demossier, Marion, et al., eds. ''The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture'' (Routledge, 2019) [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315656717 online].
* Derbyshire, Ian. ''Politics in France: From Giscard to Mitterrand'' (W & R Chambers, 1990).
* Frears, J. R. ''France in the Giscard Presidency'' (1981) 224p. covers 1974 to 1981
* Hibbs Jr, Douglas A., and Nicholas Vasilatos. "Economics and politics in France: Economic performance and mass political support for Presidents Pompidou and Giscard d'Estaing." ''European Journal of Political Research'' 9.2 (1981): 133-145 [http://www.douglas-hibbs.com/HibbsArticles/EJPR-1981.pdf online]
* Michel, Franck. "Breaking the Gaullian Mould: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and the Modernisation of French Presidential Communication." ''Modern & Contemporary France'' 13.3 (2005): 29–306.
* Nester, William R. "President Giscard d'Estaing", in ''De Gaulle's Legacy'' (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2014) pp.&nbsp;93–109.
* Ryan, W. Francis. "France under Giscard" ''Current History'' (May 1981) 80#466, pp.&nbsp;201–6, online.
* Shenton, Gordon. "The Advancement of Women in Giscard d'Estaing's 'Advanced Liberal Society'." ''Massachusetts Review'' 17.4 (1976): 743-762 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25088694 online].
* Shields, James. "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: the limits of liberalism", in ''The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) pp.&nbsp;114–135.
* Wilsford, David, ed. ''Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary'' (Greenwood, 1995) pp.&nbsp;170–176.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/11/tribun/fiches_id/1494.asp Biography on the French National Assembly website] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.alyon.org/generale/histoire/france/election_presidentielle_1965.html First and second-round results of French presidential elections] {{in lang|fr}}
* {{C-SPAN|15828}}

{{Navboxes
|state=expanded
|title=Offices and distinctions
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|fr-lwr}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-non|reason=[[Proportional representation]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Puy-de-Dôme]]|years=1956–1958}}
{{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished|rows=2}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Puy-de-Dôme]]|years=1986–1988}}
{{s-bef|before=New constituency {{nobold|(1958)}}|before2={{ill|nobold=1|Guy Fric|fr}} {{nobold|(1962, 1967)}}|before3={{ill|nobold=1|Jean Morellon|fr}} {{nobold|(1973)}}|before4={{ill|nobold=1|Claude Wolff|fr}} {{nobold|(1984)}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Puy-de-Dôme]]'s 2nd constituency|years={{br entries |1958–1959|1962–1963|1967–1969|1973|1984–1986}}}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|nobold=1|Guy Fric|fr}} {{nobold|(1959, 1963)}}|after2={{ill|nobold=1|Jean Morellon|fr}} {{nobold|(1969, 1973)}}|after3=Constituency abolished {{nobold|(1986)}}}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Puy-de-Dôme]]'s 3rd constituency|years=1988–1989}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|nobold=1|Claude Wolff|fr}}}}
{{s-bef|before={{ill|nobold=1|Claude Wolff|fr}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Puy-de-Dôme]]'s 3rd constituency|years=1993–2002}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Louis Giscard d'Estaing]]}}
{{s-par|eu}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-non|reason=[[Proportional representation]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of the European Parliament]] for [[France (European Parliament constituency)|France]]|years=1989–1993}}
{{s-non|reason=Proportional representation}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of State for Finance|years=1959–1962}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|nobold=1|Max Fléchet|fr}}}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pierre Chatrousse]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor (France)|Mayor]] of [[Chamalières]]|years=1967–1974}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|nobold=1|Claude Wolff|fr}}}}
{{s-bef|before={{ill|nobold=1|Wilfrid Baumgartner|fr}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France)|Minister of Finance and Economics Affairs]]|years=1962–1966}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michel Debré]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[François-Xavier Ortoli]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France)|Minister of Economy and Finance]]|years=1969–1974}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jean-Pierre Fourcade]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alain Poher]] {{nobold|(Acting)}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of France]]|years=1974–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[François Mitterrand]]}}
{{s-bef|before={{ill|nobold=1|Maurice Pourchon|fr}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the Regional Council (France)|President of the Regional Council]] of [[Auvergne]]|years=1986–2004}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|nobold=1|Pierre-Joël Bonté|fr}}}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new|party}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Independent Republicans]]|years=1966–1974}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michel Poniatowski]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jean Lecanuet]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Union for French Democracy]]|years=1988–1996}}
{{s-aft|after=[[François Léotard]]}}
{{s-reg}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Alain Poher]] {{nobold|(Acting)}}}}
{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=[[Co-Prince of Andorra]]|years=1974–1981|with= [[Joan Martí i Alanis]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[François Mitterrand]]}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Joan Martí i Alanis]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Joan Martí i Alanis]]}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Georges Pompidou]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Honorary Canon]] of the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]|years=1974–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[François Mitterrand]]}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Group of Seven|G6]]|years=1975}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gerald Ford]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Invocation Speaker of the [[College of Europe]]|years=2002}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joschka Fischer]]}}
{{s-end}}
}}
{{Presidents of France}}
{{Finance Ministers of France}}
{{Candidates in the 1974 French presidential election}}
{{Candidates in the 1981 French presidential election}}
{{Presidents of the European Council}}
{{Charlemagne Prize recipients}}
{{Académie française Seat 16}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giscard Destaing, Valery}}
[[Category:Valéry Giscard d'Estaing| ]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century presidents of France]]
[[Category:20th-century princes of Andorra]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1974 French presidential election]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1981 French presidential election]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France]]
[[Category:École nationale d'administration alumni]]
[[Category:École Polytechnique alumni]]
[[Category:French anti-communists]]
[[Category:French military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of France]]
[[Category:French Resistance members]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:French untitled nobility]]
[[Category:Independent Republicans politicians]]
[[Category:Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni]]
[[Category:Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Académie Française]]
[[Category:National Centre of Independents and Peasants politicians]]
[[Category:People of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Politicians from Koblenz]]
[[Category:Union for French Democracy politicians]]
<!-- Honours -->
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite]]
[[Category:Knights of Malta]]
[[Category:Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Member of the Mont Pelerin Society]]
[[Category:Nansen Refugee Award laureates]]
[[Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal]]
[[Category:Members of the Constitutional Council (France)]]