Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (French pronunciation: [valeʁi maʁi ʁəne ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃]; born 2 February 1926) is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981. As of 2010, he is a member of the Constitutional Council of France.
His tenure as President was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues – such as divorce, contraception, and abortion – and attempts to modernize t...
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Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (French pronunciation: [valeʁi maʁi ʁəne ʒɔʁʒ ʒiskaʁ dɛstɛ̃]; born 2 February 1926) is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981. As of 2010, he is a member of the Constitutional Council of France.
His tenure as President was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues – such as divorce, contraception, and abortion – and attempts to modernize the country and the office of the presidency, notably launching such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the high-speed TGV train and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. However, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the "thirty glorious years" after World War II, combined with the official discourse that the "end of the tunnel was near".
Giscard faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left...
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