Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Minister of the Economy and Finance
In office
20 June 1969 – 27 May 1974
Prime Minister
Preceded byFrançois-Xavier Ortoli
Succeeded byJean-Pierre Fourcade
In office
18 January 1962 – 8 January 1966
Prime Minister
Preceded byWilfrid Baumgartner
Succeeded byMichel Debré
Mayor of Chamalières
In office
15 September 1967 – 19 May 1974
Preceded byPierre Chatrousse
Succeeded byClaude Wolff
Additional positions
(see § Offices and distinctions)
Personal details
Born
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing

(1926-02-02)2 February 1926
PPDF (1995–1997)
  • DL (1997–1998)
  • UMP
  • (2002–2004)
    Spouse
    (m. 1952)
    Children4, including
    Free French Forces
    Years of service1944–1945
    RankBrigadier-chef [fr]
    Battles/wars
    AwardsCroix de Guerre 1939–1945

    Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (UK: /ˌʒskɑːr dɛˈstæ̃/ ZHIH-skar dess-TÃ(N),[2] US: /ʒɪˌskɑːr-/ zhih-SKAR-,[3][4] French: [valeʁi ʁəne maʁi ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃] ; 2 February 1926 – 2 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.[5]

    After serving as

    1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the "Trente Glorieuses" (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 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. As a former president, he was a member of the Constitutional Council. He also served as president of the Regional Council of 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 Académie Française, 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.

    Early life and ancestry

    Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing[6] was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany, during the French occupation of the Rhineland.[7] 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.[8] His mother was the daughter of senator and academic Achille Octave Marie Jacques Bardoux, and a granddaughter of minister of state education Agénor Bardoux.[9]

    Giscard d'Estaing in the 1940s

    Giscard had an elder sister, Sylvie, and younger siblings

    de La Rochefoucauld (1560–1623).[12]

    Giscard studied at the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, the École Gerson and the Lycées Janson-de-Sailly and Louis-le-Grand in Paris.[13]

    He joined the

    Croix de guerre for his military service.[15]

    In 1948, he spent a year in Montreal, Canada, where he worked as a teacher at Collège Stanislas.[16]

    He graduated from the

    École Polytechnique and the École nationale d'administration (1949–1951) and chose to enter the prestigious Inspection des finances.[15][13] He was admitted to the Tax and Revenue Service, then joined the staff of Prime Minister Edgar Faure (1955–1956).[14] He was fluent in German.[17]

    Early political career

    First offices: 1956–1962

    In 1956, he was elected to the National Assembly as a deputy for the Puy-de-Dôme département, in the domain of his maternal family.[18] He joined the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP), a conservative grouping.[19] After the proclamation of the 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.[15]

    Member of the Gaullist majority: 1962–1974

    Giscard with US president John F. Kennedy at the White House in 1962
    Giscard d'Estaing (center) with Brazilian president Emílio Garrastazu Médici (left) in Brazil, 1971

    In 1962, while Giscard had been nominated

    Minister of Economy and Finance, his party broke with the Gaullists and left the majority coalition.[15][11] Giscard refused to resign and founded the Independent Republicans (RI), which became the junior partner of the Gaullists in the "presidential majority".[14] 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.[20][21]

    However, in 1966, he was dismissed from the cabinet.[15] He transformed the RI into a political party, the National Federation of the Independent Republicans (FNRI), and founded the Perspectives and Realities Clubs.[15][14] In this, he criticised the "solitary practice of the power" and summarised his position towards De Gaulle's policy by a "yes, but ...".[22] As chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Finances, he criticised his successor in the cabinet.[14]

    For that reason the Gaullists refused to re-elect him to that position after the 1968 legislative election.[14] In 1969, unlike most of FNRI's elected officials, Giscard advocated a "no" vote in the constitutional referendum concerning the regions and the Senate, while De Gaulle had announced his intention to resign if the "no" won.[23] The Gaullists accused him of being largely responsible for De Gaulle's departure.[23][14]

    During the 1969 presidential campaign he supported the winning candidate Georges Pompidou, after which he returned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.[14] He was representative of a new generation of politicians emerging from the senior civil service, seen as "technocrats".[24]

    Presidential election victory

    In 1974, after the sudden death of President Georges Pompidou, Giscard announced his candidacy for the presidency.[11][15] His two main challengers were François Mitterrand for the left and Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a former Gaullist prime minister.[25] Jacques Chirac and other Gaullist personalities published the Call of the 43 [fr] where they explained that Giscard was the best candidate to prevent the election of Mitterrand.[26] In the election, Giscard finished well ahead of Chaban-Delmas in the first round, though coming second to Mitterrand.[14] In the run-off on 20 May, however, Giscard narrowly defeated Mitterrand, receiving 50.7% of the vote.[27]

    President of France

    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 votes.[28] At 48, he was the third youngest president in French history at the time, after Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte and Jean Casimir-Perier.[14]

    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.[29][30]

    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.[31] 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:

    To reform the judicial system, modernize social institutions, reduce excessive inequalities of income, develop education, liberalize repressive legislation, develop culture.[32]

    He pushed for the development of the TGV high speed train network and the Minitel telephone upgrade, a precursor of the Internet.[33] He promoted nuclear power, as a way to assert French independence.[34]

    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%.[35]

    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.[36]

    Giscard initially tried to project a less monarchical image than had been the case for past French presidents.[24] He took a ride on the Métro, ate monthly dinners with ordinary Frenchmen, and even invited garbage men from Paris to have breakfast with him in the Élysée Palace.[37] 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.[38][page needed]

    In domestic policy, Giscard's reforms worried the conservative electorate and the

    Court of Cassation in March 1981, but rescinded by presidential pardon after Giscard's defeat in the presidential election in May.[14][41]

    A rivalry arose with his Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, who resigned in 1976.[42] Raymond Barre, called the "best economist in France" at the time, succeeded him.[14]

    Unexpectedly, the right-wing coalition won the

    Rally for the Republic (RPR), became more tense.[42] Giscard reacted by founding a centre-right confederation, the Union for French Democracy (UDF).[11]

    Foreign policy

    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.[43] They induced the Soviet Union to establish a degree of liberalisation through the Helsinki Accords.[44]

    He promoted the creation of the

    Group of Six major economic powers (now the G7, including Canada and the European Union).[45]

    In 1975 Giscard pressured the future King of Spain

    Giscard d'Estaing sought to improve Franco-Romanian ties and in 1979 visited

    Nicolae Ceaucescu as a guest in Paris.[47]

    Africa

    Giscard continued de Gaulle's African policy, and sought to maintain good relations with Middle East Muslim countries so that they would continue delivering oil to France.[48] Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Cameroon were the largest and most reliable African allies, and received most of the investments.[49] In 1977, in Opération Lamantin, he ordered fighter jets to deploy in Mauritania and suppress the Polisario guerrillas fighting against Mauritania.[50]

    Most controversial was his involvement with the regime of Jean-Bédel Bokassa in the Central African Republic.[51] Giscard was initially a friend of Bokassa, and supplied the regime.[51] However, the growing unpopularity of that government led Giscard to begin distancing himself from Bokassa.[51] In 1979's Operation Caban, French troops helped drive Bokassa out of power and restore former president David Dacko to power.[52] 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 Dacko being overthrown in another coup in 1981.[51][14]

    The

    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. He expected CAR 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.[53] The saga contributed to Giscard losing his 1981 reelection bid.[54]

    Russia

    Giscard d'Estaing fancied himself a peace-maker with the

    Assemblée Nationale that he was the "petit télégraphiste de Varsovie" ("little telegraph operator from Warsaw").[55]

    1981 presidential election

    In the 1981 presidential election, Giscard took a severe blow to his support when Chirac ran against him in the first round.[15] 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[56] and blamed Chirac for his defeat thereafter.[57] In later years, it was widely said that Giscard loathed Chirac;[58] certainly on many occasions Giscard criticised Chirac's policies despite supporting Chirac's governing coalition.[42]

    Post-presidency

    Return to politics: 1984–2004

    Giscard d'Estaing in 1986

    After his defeat, Giscard retired temporarily from politics.

    Auvergne.[11][15] He was president of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions from 1997 to 2004.[60]

    In 1982, along with his friend Gerald Ford, he co-founded the annual AEI World Forum.[61] He has also served on the Trilateral Commission after being president, writing papers with Henry Kissinger.[62]

    He hoped to become prime minister during the first "cohabitation" (1986–1988) or after the re-election of Mitterrand with the theme of "France united", but he was not chosen for this position.[14] During the 1988 presidential campaign, he refused to choose publicly between the two right-wing candidates, his two former Prime Ministers Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre.[14]

    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").[63] Most of the UDF politicians supported the candidacy of the RPR Prime Minister Édouard Balladur at the 1995 presidential election, but Giscard supported his old rival Jacques Chirac, who won the election.[64] That same year Giscard suffered a setback when he lost a close election for the mayoralty of Clermont-Ferrand.[65]

    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.[66] Following his retirement from the National Assembly his son Louis Giscard d'Estaing was elected in his former constituency.[15]

    Retired from politics: 2004–2020

    Giscard d'Estaing in 2015

    In 2003, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was admitted to the

    Académie française.[67]

    Following his narrow defeat in the

    On 19 April 2007, he endorsed Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidential election.[71] 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.[14] In 2016, he supported former Prime Minister François Fillon in The Republicans presidential primaries.[72]

    A 2014 poll suggested that 64% of the French thought he had been a good president.[73] He was considered to be an honest and competent politician, but also a distant man.[73]

    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.[24]

    European activities

    Giscard d'Estaing (centre) at the EPP Congress in Brussels, 2004

    Throughout his political career, Giscard was a proponent of a greater amount of European integration in the European Community (in what would become the European Union).[15] In 1978, he was for this reason the obvious target of Jacques Chirac's Call of Cochin, denouncing the "party of the foreigners".[74]

    From 1989 to 1993, Giscard served as a

    Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group.[75]

    From 2001 to 2004 he served as president of the

    European Constitution based on a draft strongly influenced by Giscard's work at the convention.[77] Although the Constitution was rejected by French voters in May 2005, Giscard continued to actively lobby for its passage in other EU states.[78]

    Giscard d'Estaing attracted international attention at the time of the June 2008 Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty.[78] 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;[79][80] 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.[81][82][83]

    In 2008 he became the honorary president of the Atomium-EISMD

    European Manifesto of Atomium Culture.[87]

    Personal life

    Giscard's name was often shortened to "VGE" by the French media.[11] He was also known simply as l'Ex, particularly during the time he was the only living former president.[88]

    On 17 December 1952, Giscard married Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes. The couple had four children.[15]

    Giscard's private life was the source of many rumours at both national and international level.[89] His family did not live in the presidential Élysée Palace, and The Independent reported on his affairs with women.[89] In 1974, Le Monde reported that he used to leave a sealed letter stating his whereabouts in case of emergency.[90]

    In May 2020, Giscard was accused of groping a German journalist's buttocks during an interview in 2018.[91] He denied the accusation.[91]

    Possession of the Estaing castle

    The Estaing castle in 2007

    In 2005 he and his brother bought the castle of Estaing, formerly a possession of the above-mentioned Admiral d'Estaing who was beheaded in 1794.[14][92] 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.[92] However, a number of major newspapers in several countries questioned their motives and some hinted at self-appointed nobility and a usurped historical identity.[93][92] The castle was put up for sale in 2008 for €3 million[92] and is now the property of the Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Foundation.[94]

    2009 novel

    Giscard wrote his second romantic novel, published on 1 October 2009 in France, entitled The Princess and the President.[95] It tells the story of French President Jacques-Henri Lambertye having a romantic liaison with Patricia, Princess of Cardiff of the British royal family.[95] This fuelled rumours that the piece of fiction was based on a real-life liaison between Giscard and Diana, Princess of Wales.[95] He later stressed that the story was entirely made up and no such affair had actually occurred.[96]

    Illness and death

    On 14 September 2020, Giscard d'Estaing was hospitalised for care for breathing complications at the

    lung infection.[98] He was hospitalised again on 15 November,[99] but was discharged on 20 November.[100]

    Giscard d'Estaing died from complications attributed to COVID-19 on 2 December 2020, at the age of 94.[11][101][41] His family said that his funeral would be held in "strict intimacy".[14] His funeral and burial was held on 5 December in Authon with forty people attending the event.[102]

    President Emmanuel Macron released a statement describing Giscard d'Estaing as a "servant of the state, a politician of progress and freedom";[14] the president declared a national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on 9 December.[103] Former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande,[104] 2017 presidential candidate Marine Le Pen,[104] German chancellor Angela Merkel,[105] 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.[106]

    Legacy

    Giscard d'Estaing was seen as the pioneer in modernising France and strengthening the European Union.[15] He introduced numerous small social reforms, such as reducing the voting age by three years, allowing divorce by common consent, and legalising abortion.[15][14] 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.[15][24]

    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.[15] 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.[107]

    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 Rodin bust of Mahler.[108]

    Honours and awards

    Order of the Seraphim
    Presidential standard of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

    National honours

    European honours

    In 2003 he received the Charlemagne Prize of the German city of Aachen.[110] He was also a Knight of Malta.[111]

    Foreign honours

    Other honours

    International awards

    Heraldry

    Giscard d'Estaing was granted a

    Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, for his induction as a Knight of the Seraphim
    .

    References

    1. ^ "Family bid adieu to former French leader Giscard in intimate ceremony". Metro US. Reuters. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020. 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.
    2. ^ "Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022.
    3. ^ "Giscard d'Estaing". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
    4. ^ "Giscard d'Estaing". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
    5. co-prince of Andorra
      .
    6. ^ "Fichier des décès au mois de décembre 2020" [Death file for the month of December 2020] (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
    7. .
    8. ^ "Morto Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Il Post (in Italian). 2 December 2020.
    9. French Senate
      . Retrieved 2 December 2020.
    10. Yahoo
      . 2 December 2020.
    11. ^ a b c d e f g Hoagland, Jim (2 December 2020). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former French president, dies at 94". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    12. ^ "Jean III d'Estaing, seigneur de Val". 1540.
    13. ^ a b "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a president of Auvergne" (in French). Francebleu. 2 December 2020.
    14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Giscard d'Estaing: France mourns ex-president, dead at 94". BBC News. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 94, Is Dead; Struggled to Transform France". The New York Times. 2 December 2020.
    16. ^ Mon tour de jardin, Robert Prévost, p. 96, Septentrion 2002
    17. ^ Wiegel, Michaela; Figaro), Charles Jaigu (Le (15 November 2016). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: "In Wahrheit ist die Bedrohung heute nicht so groß wie damals"". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    18. ^ Thody 2002, p. 68.
    19. ^ "Pays Emergents" (PDF). ECPR.edu. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
    20. .
    21. ^ Siddiqu, Khubaib (May 2012). "Review: Barry Eichengreen, Exorbitant privilege: the rise and fall of the dollar" (PDF). Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    22. ^ "The Little Phrases Of Valéry Giscard D'Estaing". Good Word News. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    23. ^ a b "Commanding Heights". PBS. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    24. ^ a b c d e Obituaries, Telegraph (2 December 2020). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, centre-Right French President who supported a united Europe – obituary". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    25. ^ "Key dates in the life of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". France24. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    26. ^ Pozzi, Jérôme. "The Appel des 43 and the Gaullist movement: political maneuver, generational change and the rebellion of the "godillots"". Parlement[s], Revue d'histoire politique. 7 (1). Cairn. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    27. ^ Lewis, Flora (20 May 1974). "France Elects Giscard President For 7 Years After A Close Contest; Left Turned Back". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
    28. ^ Koven, Ronald (11 May 1981). "France Elects Mitterrand With 52 Percent of Vote". The Washington Post.
    29. JSTOR 25088694
      .
    30. ^ Frears, 1981, 150–153.
    31. .
    32. .
    33. ^ "History of the Minitel". Whitepages.fr. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    34. ^ "From TGVs to nuclear power: What Valéry Giscard d'Estaing meant to France" (in French). The Local. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    35. . Retrieved 20 November 2016 – via Google Books.
    36. ^ J.R. Frears, France in the Giscard Presidency (1981) p. 135.
    37. ^ "Late French ex-president Giscard helped reshape Europe". Associated Press. 3 December 2020.
    38. .
    39. ^ "Simone Viel, Ex-Minister Who Wrote France's Abortion Laws, Dies at 89". The New York Times. 30 June 2017.
    40. ^ "Ocala Star-Banner – Google News Archive Search".[permanent dead link]
    41. ^ a b "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing dies after COVID-1 diagnosis". The Guardian. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
    42. ^ a b c "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 'reformist' French president, dies at 94". France 24. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    43. S2CID 145630563
      .
    44. ^ Willsher, Kim (3 December 2020). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
    45. ^ Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, "Filling the EEC leadership vacuum? The creation of the European Council in 1974", Cold War History 10.3 (2010): 315-339.
    46. ^ Conclusion of Marie-Monique Robin's Escadrons de la mort, l'école française (in French)/ Watch here film documentary (French, English, Spanish)
    47. ^ Abraham, Florin (2016). Romania Since the Second World War A Political, Social and Economic History. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 60.
    48. ^ Girardet, Edward (7 April 1980). "Giscard's pro-Arab tilt splits French Jewish community". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
    49. ^ Frears, John R., France in the Giscard Presidency (1981) pp. 109–127.
    50. ^ "France Reinforces Garrison in Senegal". The New York Times. 3 November 1977.
    51. ^ a b c d "Mixed memories of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, France's 'Monsieur Afrique'". Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    52. .
    53. .
    54. ^ "The diamond scandal that helped bring down France's Giscard". Yahoo! News.
    55. ^ Branda, Pierre (30 March 2023). ""L'histoire des relations franco-russes aurait dû nous enseigner la prudence"". Le Figaro.
    56. ^ "Valery Giscard d'Estaing | president of France". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
    57. ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 10 November 2017.
    58. ^ Van Renterghem, Marion (1 October 2019). "Chirac delivered little and left office under a cloud. Why does France now love him?". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    59. ^
      ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    60. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    61. ^ "Former President Gerald R. Ford stands with Vice President Dick Cheney". The Bush White House. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    62. ^ "VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING". EISMD.eu. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    63. ^ "Vingt ans après, les rénovateurs". Le Figaro. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    64. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Edouard Balladur, Jacques Chirac's best enemies". France TV. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    65. ^ "L'UMP tente un nouvel assaut en Auvergne". Le Figaro. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    66. ^ "France's New Five-Year Presidential Term". Brooking Institute. 1 March 2001.
    67. ^ "VGE devient Immortel". Le Nouvel Observateur. 17 December 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    68. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    69. ^ "Giscard: France's rejection of the Constitution was a 'mistake'". Euractiv. 6 March 2006.
    70. ^ "La Chiraquie veut protéger son chef quand il quittera l'Élysée", Libération, 14 January 2005
    71. ^ "So Chirac finally backed Sarkozy..." The Economist. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    72. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing soutient François Fillon". Le Figaro (in French). 18 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    73. ^ a b "Fichier BVA pour Le Parisien" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    74. ^ "Le "parti de l'étranger" et "le bruit et l'odeur", les précédents dérapages de Jacques Chirac". 20 Minutes. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    75. ^ a b "List of all current and former Members". European Parliament. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    76. ^ "GISCARD D'ESTAING (Valéry)". CVCE.edu. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    77. ^ Sabine Verhest (17 June 2003). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing l'Européen". La Libre.be. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    78. ^ a b "Lisbon Treaty made to avoid referendum, says Giscard". EUobserver. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    79. ^ ""Le Traité simplifié, oui, mutilé, non", par Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Le Monde. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    80. ^ Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry (20 June 2007). "Yes to simplified treaty, No to a mutilated text". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    81. ^ Brown, Tony. ""Saying No". An Analysis of the Irish Opposition to the Lisbon Treaty" (PDF). Institute of International and European Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    82. ^ "Roche regrets 'distortion' of Giscard quote on Lisbon". The irish Times. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    83. ^ "Lisbon No campaign was 'dishonest' in misusing his quote, says Giscard". The Irish Times. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    84. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Honorary President of Atomium-EISMD". EISMD.eu. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    85. ^ "The Honorary President of Atomium Culture Valéry Giscard d'Estaing speaks at the public launch and first conference, Atomium Culture". Atomiumculture.eu. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
    86. ^ Von Joachim Müller-Jung (27 November 2009). "Atomium Culture: Bienenstock der Intelligenz – Atomium Culture – Wissen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
    87. ^ "Highlights of the Public Launch and First Conference of Atomium-EISMD". EISMD.eu. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    88. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: un roman et des souvenirs". Le Figaro. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    89. ^ a b Lichfield, John (3 February 1998). "French get peek at all the presidents' women". The Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
    90. ^ "Edición del sábado, 30 noviembre 1974, página 21 - Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es". La Vanguardia.
    91. ^ a b Breeden, Aurelien; Schuetze, Christopher F. (8 May 2020). "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Ex-French President, Accused of Groping Journalist". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
    92. ^ a b c d "Giscard d'Estaing a victim of chateau slump". The Independent.uk. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    93. ^ 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
    94. ^ "CHÂTEAU D'ESTAING". Agence de Développement Touristique de l'Aveyron. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
    95. ^ a b c "Giscard hints at affair with Diana". Connexion. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
    96. ^ "Giscard: I made up Diana love story". Connexion. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
    97. ^ "France's former president Giscard d'Estaing, 94, hospitalised". France24. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
    98. ^ "El expresidente francés Giscard d'Estaing, de 94 años, hospitalizado por una infección pulmonar". ABC (in Spanish). Spain. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
    99. ^ "Former French President Giscard d'Estaing hospitalized". Anadolu Agency. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
    100. ^ "L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est sorti de l'hôpital". Le Parisien. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
    101. ^ "L'ancien président Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est mort des suites du Covid". Europe 1 (in French). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    102. ^ "French ex-president Giscard laid to rest in low-key ceremony" (in French). The Local. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
    103. ^ "Macron declares national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on December 9". France 24. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    104. ^ a b "French ex-President Valery Giscard d'Estaing dies of Covid". La Prensalatina. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    105. ^ "Merkel Mourns Loss Of 'Great European' Giscard D'Estaing". Barrons. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2002.
    106. ^ "Giscard d'Estaing: a tribute from Sassoli, Michel and Von der Leyen. "A great European who will keep inspiring us"". Agensir.it. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    107. ^ "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing obituary". The Guardian. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    108. ^ Paris, Adam Sage. "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing sale reveals his aristocratic tastes". Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
    109. ^
      Académie française. Archived
      from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
    110. ^ "Europe's premier Parliamentarian receives 2004 Charlemagne Prize". City Mayors. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    111. ^ "Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing Visits the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem". Order of Malta. 14 March 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    112. ^ "Viagem do PR Geisel à França" (PDF). Retrieved 19 January 2019.
    113. ^ borger.dk, Ordensdetaljer, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Archived 17 December 2012 at archive.today, Hans Excellence, fhv. præsident for Republikken Frankrig
    114. ^ Coat of arms in the chapel of Frederiksborg Castle
    115. ^ "List of Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland 1919-1994. Edited by Klaus Castrén".[permanent dead link]
    116. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    117. ^ a b "ENTIDADES ESTRANGEIRAS AGRACIADAS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas". www.ordens.presidencia.pt. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    118. ^ "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". boe.es. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    119. ^ "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". boe.es. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    120. ^ "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". boe.es. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
    121. ^ "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". Alamy.
    122. ^ a b "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing". Conseil Constitutionnel. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
    123. .
    124. United Nations High Commission for Refugees
    125. ^ Official list of knights of the Order of the Elephant Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (in Danish)

    Sources

    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 online.
    • Criddle, B. J. "Valéry Giscard D'Estaing." in The Year Book Of World Affairs, 1980 (Sweet & Maxwell, 1980) pp. 60–75.
    • Demossier, Marion, et al., eds. The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture (Routledge, 2019) 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 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. 93–109.
    • Ryan, W. Francis. "France under Giscard" Current History (May 1981) 80#466, pp. 201–6, online.
    • Shenton, Gordon. "The Advancement of Women in Giscard d'Estaing's 'Advanced Liberal Society'." Massachusetts Review 17.4 (1976): 743-762 online.
    • Shields, James. "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: the limits of liberalism", in The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) pp. 114–135.
    • Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 170–176.

    External links