Former French President Giscard d'Estaing Passes Away... Cause of Death 'COVID-19' Complications

Passed away at 94... Recognized for laying the foundation for EU development

▲Val?ry Giscard d'Estaing, former President of France [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Former French President Val?ry Giscard d'Estaing passed away on the 3rd (local time) due to complications from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). He was 94 years old.

According to AFP, the family of former President Giscard d'Estaing announced that he died from COVID-19. The foundation established by Giscard d'Estaing also stated that the cause of death was complications related to COVID-19.

It is known that former President Giscard d'Estaing had been hospitalized several times for treatment due to lung disease and heart problems.

Giscard d'Estaing ran as the right-wing candidate at the age of 48 in the 1974 presidential election held after the sudden death of his predecessor President Georges Pompidou during his term, defeating the left-wing Fran?ois Mitterrand. He led France from 1974 to 1981 and is credited with strengthening the European Economic Community (EEC), laying the foundation for the development of the European Union (EU), and contributing to the establishment of the Group of Seven (G7) summits.

▲Former French President Val?ry Giscard d'Estaing (left) and the late Princess Diana (right) [Image source=Yonhap News]

During World War II, he served in the 'Free France,' the anti-German resistance organization founded by Charles de Gaulle, who was a soldier at the time. He officially entered politics when he was appointed Minister of Finance by de Gaulle in 1962.

Domestically, he achieved reform outcomes such as legalizing abortion, liberalizing divorce, and lowering the voting age to 18. The opening of France's high-speed train (TGV) also took place during his tenure.

After completing his seven-year term, Giscard d'Estaing ran for re-election in 1981 but was defeated by Mitterrand, resulting in a single term.

After former Presidents Mitterrand passed away in 1996 and Chirac in 2019, he was the oldest living former president of France.

In his later years, he faced dishonor as he was investigated for sexual harassment of a journalist. Since May, he had been under prosecution investigation for allegedly sexually harassing Ann-Kathrin Stracke, a reporter from the German public broadcaster WDR, in his office in 2018. Reporter Stracke filed a complaint with the French police in March, claiming that he harassed her during an interview with former President Giscard d'Estaing on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's birth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.