PARIS: Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who led his country into a new modern era and onto a firmly pro-European path, died late Wednesday of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), his family said. Verhofstadt has made no secret of his desire to play a leading role in the proposed conference, which is an initiative jointly proposed by the European Parliament and the European Commission a year ago that has the support of the French and German governments. If you do not have a login you can register here. Between the two men, whom only six years separated – but Giscard, the eldest, born in 1926, had fought at the end of the Second World War -, it all started with a pact… of treason. Explore the live extension of our journalism, The wonk's survival guide to the EU Green Deal, March 4 — Playbook Paris interview with Bruno Le Maire, minister of the economy, finance and recovery, France, March 8 — Virtual Playbook Interviews – Women’s day edition, March 9 — The future of Europe’s agri-food production system post-pandemic. Thrown out of his chairmanship by the Gaullists in 1968, he gained his revenge by supporting Georges Pompidou in the 1969 presidential elections, whereupon he was reappointed to the finance ministry. His standing was not enhanced after he was accused of accepting a gift of diamonds from the self-styled Emperor of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bedel Bokassa. But some in the European Council are opposed to his being chair. His single-minded approach to greater European integration was not to everyone's taste and his aloof nature meant he often fell out with his allies. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers in Europe. Even the present incumbent, Jacques Chirac, … So, a quarter of a century later, he did not shrink from renaming the Convention on the Future of Europe as the European Convention, nor from describing it as drafting a constitution for the EU. On the basis of this agreement, Greek Minister of Defense Evangelos Averoff visited France a few days later. Campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the U.K. What’s driving the day in Paris, en français, The weekly digest of the best stories in U.K. politics. It is an extraordinary fact that no French government (as opposed to a sitting president) has been endorsed by the electorate in any … The draft constitutional treaty that emerged from the convention was not modest in its ambition. Tultuaan presidentiksi Giscard d’Estaing nimitti tukijansa Jacques Chiracin pääministeriksi, mutta erimielisyyksien tähden tämä erosi parin vuoden kuluttua. After years of Gaullist stagnation, he made his intentions plain: "You want a deep political, a deep economic and a deep social change. VideoMcConnell blames 'Trump's lies' but votes not guilty, The moment the Senate acquits Trump. But the enthusiastic architect of European unity was, by now, in his nineties. Giscard d’Estaing and his reformist, economically liberal prime minister, Raymond Barre, won the parliamentary elections of 1979. Latest news, analysis and comment on migration in Europe and beyond. There was also criticism over Giscard d'Estaing's reported demands for a salary in excess of €20,000 per month, plus expenses. Above all, it is a warning not to give the chairmanship of the conference to Guy Verhofstadt, a liberal member of the European Parliament who has been lobbying for the position and is the Parliament’s candidate for the post. If this time round there is no Giscard d’Estaing — and no Verhofstadt — that may be no bad thing. The late president's family said his funeral would take place amid "strict intimacy". In later life, Giscard d'Estaing liked to portray himself as the grand old man of French politics. A year later, and to Giscard d'Estaing's profound embarrassment, the constitution was roundly rejected by the French people. Although he voiced his opposition to the death penalty, he refused to commute three of the death sentences passed during his term, and the last use of the guillotine in France took place in 1977. But history will probably be less kind about Giscard d’Estaing’s role in the institutional politics of the EU at the start of the 21st century and, for that matter, about Verhofstadt, who gave him that role. Giscard d’Estaing himself drafted the preamble to the constitution, complete with a quote from Thucydides. He defeated Jacques Chirac in the first round of voting, but Chirac's failure to call on his supporters to support Giscard d'Estaing in the second round widened the gulf between the former allies. Verhofstadt has long argued the need for a European constitution, made comparisons with the creation of the United States of America, and urged EU member countries towards a United States of Europe. "So we will rediscover a situation that we have already known. Latest news, analysis and comment on elections in Europe and beyond. In 2009, he published a novel about a relationship between a fictional French president and the fictional Princess of Cardiff. Nevertheless, it will still be worth asking whether the European Union’s evolution would have been different if the Declaration of Laeken had been more modestly drafted and Verhofstadt had not pressed for Giscard d’Estaing to be appointed to lead the European Convention. Video, McConnell blames 'Trump's lies' but votes not guilty, The moment the Senate acquits Trump. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on the continent. Subsequently, he based himself in his political heartland - the Auvergne region of central France - delivering regular pronouncements to newspapers and on television about the state of the nation. He was 94. Although many of the changes to the EU’s decision-making rules were subsequently introduced by the Lisbon treaty, which took effect in 2009, the aspiration to an EU constitution was dropped — though some may hope to resurrect it. Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing, a leading advocate of European integration who led his country into a new modern era, has died of Covid-19, his family said. Giscard d'Estaing's popularity began to wane. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of the drive to increase France's dependence on nuclear power, following the oil crisis of 1973. Read about our approach to external linking. His successor, Raymond Barre, introduced a programme of austerity and unemployment began to rise. His national standing sank so low that he became known as Monsieur Ex in Parisian political circles. Ironically, back in December 2001, Verhofstadt, who was then the prime minister of Belgium, played a big part in the Council’s flawed decision to designate Giscard d’Estaing as president of the convention. Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, in what was then French-occupied Germany. Early life. His selection for the job was the result of intensive lobbying by French President Jacques Chirac, who is said to have insisted on it at the EU's summit in the Belgian town of Laeken in December 2001. Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing | Jacques Demarthon/AFP via Getty Images, Campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the EU. His initial explanation that he had sold them and given the proceeds to a number of charities was undermined when one of the alleged recipients, the Red Cross, denied having received any funds. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, president, and Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister, aboard the aircraft carrier Clemenceau in 1976./Rue des Archives / AGIP . Before the advent of the Lisbon treaty, chairing the Council and meetings of the Council of Ministers was a task that rotated between the national governments, with each taking a turn for six months. You will not be disappointed," he said. A fan of technology, Giscard d'Estaing was a strong advocate of the French high-speed train network, the TGV, construction of which began in earnest in 1976. In 1956, he entered politics and was elected deputy for Puy-de-Dôme, in France’s central Auvergne region. In 2004, European heads of state signed a European Constitution that was based primarily on the work carried out by Giscard d'Estaing's convention. He was seen by many as arrogant and aloof; his presidential popularity was short-lived and he was eventually squeezed out of office by a strengthening of opposition from both the left and the right. He was sacked from the cabinet in 1966 but, as chairman of the National Assembly committee that scrutinised the country's finances, he remained a powerful voice, latterly increasingly critical of the De Gaulle government. Giscard d'Estaing's education was disrupted by World War Two. Bitterly disappointed that Britain decided to leave the European Union in 2016, he described it as a "backward step". Former French president’s death is a reminder not to repeat the mistakes that were made with the Convention on the Future of Europe. The optics were bad. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on German politics. PARIS — Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, died on Wednesday. Latest news, analysis and comment on defense in Europe and beyond. McConnell blames 'Trump's lies' but votes not guilty. If France were the United States, it would have lost its last three presidents - Mitterrand, Giscard and Pompidou - to sex scandals. In 1979, the French satirical magazine, Le Canard enchaîné, alleged that Giscard d'Estaing had received the diamonds in 1973, when he was finance minister. Tim King writes POLITICO‘s Brussels Sketch. "We functioned without Britain during the first years of the European Union," he said, with a Gallic shrug. He was just a teenager when he joined a French resistance group in occupied Paris before enlisting in a tank battalion in 1944, earning the Croix de Guerre in the last months of the war. Nor would he regret the fruits of the convention’s work: a draft EU “constitutional treaty” whose pretentious ambition crumbled in the face of hard reality in the space of four days in mid-2005 when it was rejected by referendums in France and the Netherlands. What compounded the error was that Giscard d’Estaing was an able and skillful chairman and was committed to expanding the influence of the EU. He drafted what became the Declaration of Laeken — the Council’s agreement to embark on the convention and further treaty reform — which was agreed by the Council at the Royal Palace of Laeken and billed as the crowning achievement of Belgium’s EU presidency. Giscard d’Estaing was undoubtedly a substantial figure in Europe’s post-1945 history.As president of France from 1974 to 1981, he grappled with two of the biggest issues of late 20th century geo-politics: Europe’s response to the oil shock of 1973 and NATO’s response to the threat of nuclear attack from an increasingly belligerent Soviet Union. He later complained that "the rejection of the Constitutional treaty by voters in France was a mistake that should be corrected". Jacques Giscard d'Estaing (1929-2012), diplômé de l'institut d'études politiques de Paris, ancien élève de l'école nationale d'administration, président de chambre à la cour des comptes, épouse Isabelle Burin des Roziers (1932), dont : Britain and France are condemned to work together. By logging in, you confirm acceptance of our POLITICO Privacy Policy. They paid less attention to Giscard d’Estaing’s perennial inability to shake off the image of being remote and condescending — which arguably had prevented him from prolonging or reviving his political career in France. But, in 2002, he returned to the limelight when he was chosen to head up the convention tasked with drawing up a constitution for the European Union. The super-brain of Valery Giscard d’Estaing (1926-2020), who had said in the aftermath of the reunification of Germany and of the European continent in 1989-90, that it was now necessary to go “faster than history” to make Europe, was the opposite of Charles de Gaulle, the French demigod, and also of the elitist Jacques Chirac. (Photo : AFP) One-term president. Giscard d’Estaing was undoubtedly a substantial figure in Europe’s post-1945 history. As president of France from 1974 to 1981, he grappled with two of the biggest issues of late 20th century geo-politics: Europe’s response to the oil shock of 1973 and NATO’s response to the threat of nuclear attack from an increasingly belligerent Soviet Union. What Macron could learn from Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Two years on, (some) Yellow Jacket supporters no longer hate Macron. McConnell blames 'Trump's lies' but votes not guilty. The warm glow that the EU had felt after its 2004 enlargement dissipated quickly: In retrospect, 2004-05 looks like a high point for EU self-confidence and a missed opportunity. It is supposed to encourage public debate about how the policies and institutions of the EU might develop. In 1978, he had with Schmidt laid the foundations of the European Monetary System: So, he would not shrink from institutional innovation, particularly building up the power of the European Parliament, of which he had been a member from 1989 to 1993. March 16 — Bioeconomy and the Green Deal: matching Europe’s climate neutrality and competitiveness goals? In both endeavors, Helmut Schmidt, the chancellor of West Germany, was a close ally. ", Trump acquitted of inciting mob to attack US Capitol. The former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who is credited with transforming postwar France and encouraging European integration, has … He was keen to take up the issue of institutional reform of the EU, dissatisfied with the changes made in December 2001 in preparation for the expansion of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe (10 states were added to the existing 15 in May 2004 and another two in January 2007), which he regarded as inadequate. Giscard d'Estaing lost the 1981 presidential election to Francois Mitterrand. In-depth reporting, data and actionable intelligence for policy professionals – all in one place. jacques demarthon / afp Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a leading advocate of European integration who led his country into … When Pompidou died suddenly in 1974, Giscard d'Estaing announced he would run for the Élysée Palace, presenting himself as a modern and moderate alternative to the austere conservatism of Gaullism. Valery Giscard d'Estaing was France's president from 1974 to 1981 and had been recently been hospitalized due to heart problems. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on French politics. However, his domestic reforms worried his more conservative political allies, with Jacques Chirac resigning as prime minister in 1976. He is said to have asked for a luxury suite of rooms in a Brussels hotel for a year and for a handpicked private staff. The choice was buttressed by the nomination as deputy chairmen of a former prime minister of Italy, Giuliano Amato, from the center-left, and a former prime minister of Belgium, Jean-Luc Dehaene, from the center-right. Many criticised the choice of a man in his late 70s for a job designed to bring the EU closer to the people, and especially the young. Between the two men, whom only six years separated - but Giscard, the eldest, born in 1926, had fought at the end of the Second World War -, it all started with a pact… of treason. Karamanlis and Giscard d’Estaing agreed that the understanding should be kept a secret, communicated only to Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, the two defense ministers and the two commanders of their armed forces. In December 1952, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing married Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes. Even at the time, there was a dissonance between the declaration’s ambition “to bring citizens, and primarily the young, closer to the European design and the European institutions” and the choice of Giscard d’Estaing, who was then 75 years old, as the embodiment of this ambition. A majority of senators vote to convict the former president but fall short of two-thirds total needed. As one of France's youngest presidents - he was 48 when he came to power, he had a longer career in politics after he left high office than he had enjoyed on his way to the Élysée Palace. He also saw through laws on equal pay and opportunities for women, reduced the retirement age to 60 and allowed Paris to elect its own mayor. Intellectually gifted, he lacked the common touch and never became popular with the French people. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who was president of France between 1974 and 1981, died in a cardiology ward in Tours aged 94 after falling ill with Covid-19, his family have said. His hopes of becoming prime minister under Mitterrand in 1986 were dashed and he refused to support either right-wing candidate in the 1988 presidential elections. Log in to access content and manage your profile. Two decades on, the Conference on the Future of Europe starts off with more modest ambitions, circumscribed by tensions between the Parliament and the Council, between Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron. Giscard had an older sister, Sylvie and younger siblings Olivier, Isabelle, and Marie-Laure. The death of Mitterrand in 1996 followed by the passing of the socialist's successor Jacques Chirac in 2019 left Giscard as by far France's oldest surviving leader. "A servant of the state, a politician of progress and freedom, his death has plunged the French nation into mourning," he said in a statement. In 2005, he and his brother purchased the castle of Estaing in the French district of Aveyron, which had previously been owned by Admiral d'Estaing. He was the oldest son of Jean Edmond Lucien Giscard d'Estaing and his wife Marthe Clémence Jacqueline Marie (May) Bardoux. Between 1989 and 1993, he served as a member of the European Parliament and seemed destined to end his days in political obscurity. Those inside the European bubble believed that the former French president’s stature would give the Convention credibility and status. France played a major part in Bokassa's lavish coronation ceremony in 1977, which cost more than the annual gross domestic product of the impoverished country. He died of complications from coronavirus, surrounded by his family at his estate in central France. VideoMyanmar coup: How did we get here? Giscard d'Estaing was committed to the European ideal and developed a close relationship with Germany's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. His father was a civil servant who worked for the French occupying forces, while his mother was descended from King Louis XV of France via one of his mistresses. He had pushed through the creation of the Council in 1974 to formalize summits of national leaders, partly by an adept change of nomenclature. © 2021 BBC. Valery Giscard d'Estaing with JFK at the White House in 1962 With his death, France "has lost a statesman who chose to open up to the world", added Mr … Giscard d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany, during the French occupation of the Rhineland. He became secretary of state for finances in 1959, a post he held for almost four years until his party broke with the ruling Gaullists with whom they were in a coalition. Giscard d'Estaing het politieke opposisie van albei kante van die spektrum gehad: van die nuut-verenigde linkerkant van François Mitterrand en 'n opkomende Jacques Chirac, wat Gaullisme op 'n regse grondslag laat herleef het. Bokassa's brutal dictatorial regime had received a great deal of support from the French government, with Giscard D'Estaing declaring in 1975 that he was a "friend and family member" of Bokassa. Striking news pictures from around the world, Zendaya & Washington in the film that's got everyone talking ★★☆☆☆, Senate falls short of majority to convict Trump1, Waller-Bridge and Glover to remake Mr and Mrs Smith2, What verdict means for Trump, Biden and America3, China 'refused access' to key Covid data for WHO4, Why Canada is falling behind in Covid vaccinations5, In pictures: Dutch take to ice as canals freeze6, Powerful earthquake rocks Fukushima in Japan7, Britney Spears' father must share financial power8, 'A giant gash is being carved through the city'9, Biden aide suspended for 'threatening reporter'10. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, president, and Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister, aboard the aircraft carrier Clemenceau in 1976./Rue des Archives / AGIP . France’s former president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who brought about rapid social change and was a leading force in founding the European Union, died Wednesday at the age of 94 from complications linked to Covid-19, his family said. By then, the EU was grappling with a global banking crisis, which was soon followed by a sovereign debt crisis. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, viết tắt là Giscard hoặc VGE (phát âm tiếng Pháp: [valeʁi maʁi ʁəne ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaːʁ dɛsˈtɛ̃]), (2 tháng 2 năm 1926 – 2 tháng 12 năm 2020), là một chính trị gia và Tổng thống Pháp từ năm 1974 tới năm 1981.. Sau nhiều năm hoạt động trong vai … In the second half of 2001, the task fell to Belgium, where Verhofstadt was prime minister. Biography. Earlier this year, he was accused of groping a German reporter during a 2018 interview - charges he denied. Together they turned their dream of a more integrated Europe into reality. Playbook Paris interview with Bruno Le Maire, minister of the economy, finance and recovery, France. At home, he made several reforms early on in his term in office. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, France's president from 1974 to 1981, has died at the age of 94. Even in death, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing can still exert influence over the European Union. Video, The video Russian police 'leaked to scare people' Video, The video Russian police 'leaked to scare people', Senate falls short of majority to convict Trump, Waller-Bridge and Glover to remake Mr and Mrs Smith, China 'refused access' to key Covid data for WHO, Why Canada is falling behind in Covid vaccinations, In pictures: Dutch take to ice as canals freeze, Powerful earthquake rocks Fukushima in Japan, Britney Spears' father must share financial power, Biden aide suspended for 'threatening reporter', he was accused of groping a German reporter. All of this left the outcome of the convention vulnerable to the charge that it was a top-down project being imposed on the people of France (or the Netherlands, or Austria…) by a European elite. Valéry Marie René Giscard d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany, during the French occupation of the Rhineland. Sisäpolitiikka. When historians of the EU come to look at the what-ifs and the might-have-beens of that first decade of the 21st century, it will be hard to disentangle the effects of the Iraq War and the interplay with national politics. However, he denied that he was being greedy. From breaking stories to the insiders track on what is driving the day in Brussels, London and Paris. A centre-right, pro-Europe politician, Giscard d'Estaing also liberalised laws on divorce, abortion and contraception during his seven years in power. He felt, he said, inclined to take the long view. Not that Verhofstadt would characterize the choice of Giscard d’Estaing as flawed. He worked for a while as a teacher in Montreal before graduating from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration and joining the tax and revenue service. The right won a majority in the 1978 coalition elections and Giscard d'Estaing responded by founding the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Giscard d'Estaing narrowly defeated the socialist François Mitterrand in the second round of voting with just 50.7% of the poll, becoming the third youngest president in French history. 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. This week he mourned the passing of Giscard d’Estaing with a message on social media: “May his commitment and the energy he so ably demonstrated on the convention guide us in our work in the Conference on the Future of Europe.”. He was also caught up in a scandal surrounding his support for a corrupt African dictator. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. However, Giscard d'Estaing refused to leave the government and founded the Independent Republicans, which allied itself to the majority Gaullists. Myanmar coup: How did we get here? President Emmanuel Macron said his presidency had transformed France and his direction still guided its way. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, while divorce and abortion laws were relaxed, in spite of fierce opposition from the Catholic Church. In 1955 he spent some time on the staff of prime minister Edgar Faure before winning the seat of Puy-de Dome in the National Assembly, the area from which his mother's family came. Accompanying the Laeken Declaration was an agreement that Giscard d’Estaing would chair the convention. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in April 1974 after announcing his resignation as finance minister so that he could stand for the presidency. Latest news, analysis and comment on security in Europe and beyond. It led to speculation that it was based on a relationship between Giscard d'Estaing and Diana, Princess of Wales, although he eventually poured cold water on those suggestions. He defeated Jacques Chirac in the first round of voting, but Chirac's failure to call on his supporters to support Giscard d'Estaing in the second round widened the gulf between the former allies. Giscard d'Estaing was born in Koblenz, Germany, during the French occupation of the Rhineland. FILE - In this Aug.9 1969, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, left, as Finance Minister and Jacques Chirac as Secretary of State to Finance leave Elysee Palace, Aug. 9, 1969. His death is an uncomfortable but timely reminder not to repeat the mistakes that were made when that one was set up. VideoThe moment the Senate acquits Trump, What verdict means for Trump, Biden and America, The hero mountaineer who never came back from K2, The video Russian police 'leaked to scare people' VideoThe video Russian police 'leaked to scare people', How I bickered and bonded with a Spotify hacker, The 'saviour' loan apps that trapped Indians, 'A giant gash is being carved through the city'. And when the political weather changed — because of the Iraq war and because the enlargement of the EU in 2004 ushered in an unsettling period of intra-EU migration as Eastern Europeans moved west in search of work — then the referendums on the constitutional treaty became an obvious target for expressing discontent. The echoes from history are deafening: Giscard d’Estaing himself presided over a Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003. Verhofstadt’s declaration . Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (g) et Jacques Chirac, lors d'un des derniers meetings de campagne, avant le second tour de la présidentielle de mai 1988.