France: former president Giscard d’Estaing died of Corona – foreign policy

12/03/2020 Germany, Health, World

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Former French Head of State Valéry Giscard d’Estaing has died.

The central politician, who served at the Elysee Palace from 1974 to 1981, died at the age of 94. As announced by his family in the wake of a corona infection.

“His health had deteriorated and he died as a result of Covid-19,” he said in a statement. Giscard d’Estaing died “surrounded by his family” on his estate in the municipality of Authon in the Loire region. “According to his wishes, his funeral will be held in the closest family circle.”

The former head of state had been hospitalized several times in recent months for heart problems.

► French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to him on Thursday as a “great European” and innovator for his country.

In the 1970s, Giscard d’Estaing formed an exemplary Franco-German duo with then-Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt († 96, SPD) and pushed Europe forward together with the Hamburg native.

Europäisches Power-Duo: Der damalige französische Präsident Valery Giscard d'Estaing (l.) und der damalige Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt im Juni 1977

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European power duo: then French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing (left) and then Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in June 1977Photo: Heinrich Sanden / dpa

For example, both high-level politicians designed the European Monetary System, which from 1979 constituted the framework for monetary cooperation between partner countries.

The tall, aristocratic Frenchman and the nervous SPD politician, Schmidt, took the same direction on the international stage. They represented the foundation of the summits of the great economic powers. These were initially gathered in the so-called G6 format. The highest representatives of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States met for the first time in 1975 at the Rambouillet castle, near Paris.

The unification of Europe and the Franco-German friendship were part of Giscard d’Estaing’s lifelong work. The Frenchman, awarded the Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen (2003), used his office to reform and set the course.

30 Juli 1975: Die Freunde Helmut Schmidt und Valery Giscard d'Estaing sprechen mit dem damaligen US-Präsidenten Gerald Ford und dem damaligen britischen Premierminister Harold Wilson (v.l.n.r.) auf ei

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July 30, 1975: Friends Helmut Schmidt and Valery Giscard d’Estaing speak with then-US President Gerald Ford and then-British Prime Minister Harold Wilson (left to right) at a security summit in Helsinki.Photo: – / AFP

Born on February 2, 1926 in Koblenz, in the then French-occupied Rhineland, he graduated from the elite ENA university after World War II. He was Minister of Economy and Finance for a long time before being elected to the highest position in the state after the death of President Georges Pompidou at the age of 48.

“VGE”, as Giscard d’Estaing was called, won the second round with only a narrow majority against the socialist François Mitterrand. The sharp-tongued Mitterrand once wryly described his upper-class adversary as a “young old man.”

As president, Giscard d’Estaing pushed far-reaching social reforms, such as the liberalization of the marriage and abortion law, in the difficult times after the 1968 revolt. At the same time, the death penalty was still applied in France in the 1970s. In 1977 Hamida Djandoubi was the last prisoner to be guillotined.

He wanted to modernize France “without breaking with its past,” the central liberal politician once said.

Giscard d'Estaing im Mai 1977 mit U.S. President Jimmy Carter (r.) und Englands Königen Elizabeth II im Buckingham Palace in London.

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Giscard d’Estaing in May 1977 with US President Jimmy Carter (right) and King Elizabeth II of England at Buckingham Palace in LondonPhoto: / AP Photo / dpa

With his refined manners and penchant for hunting, he seemed from time to time very distant from his fellow citizens. Towards the end of his term, his popularity suffered, among other things due to the affair related to a diamond gift from the Central African dictator Jean-Bédel Bokassa.

From 2002, Giscard d’Estaing led the company the EU Reform Convention, which presented a draft constitution to renew the European Union. However, when the French and the Dutch voted no in the 2005 referenda, the project failed spectacularly. After that, the EU Lisbon Treaty adopted important provisions from the rejected constitution.

In 2003, Giscard d’Estaing was elected a member of the prestigious academic society Académie française, whose members are called “the immortals”. He also wrote several books, including the novel “The Princess and the President.” In it he tells how a French president named Jacques-Henri Lambertye hooks up with Princess Patricia of Cardiff.

In Paris wurde spekuliert, ob Prinzessin Diana mit dem aristokratisch auftretendem Giscard d'Estaing eine Affaire hatte

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In Paris it was speculated if Princess Diana had an affair with the aristocratic Giscard d’EstaingPhoto: John Stillwell / dpa

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France: former president Giscard d’Estaing died of Corona – foreign policy

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