Giscard d'Estaing became controversial for his support of Jean-Bédel Bokassa in the Central African Republic. Due to the growing unpopularity of that government, he began to slowly criticise Bokassa. In 1979's Operation Caban, French troops helped remove Bokassa from power and made former president David Dacko the new leader.
The Diamonds Affair, known in France as "l'affaire des diamants", was a major political scandal in the Fifth Republic. In 1973, while Minister of Finance, Giscard d'Estaing was given diamonds by Bokassa. Many believe this is what made him lose his re-election.
In the 1981 presidential election, Giscard d'Estaing's re-election was in trouble because former Prime Minister Chirac ran against him. Chirac finished third and did not tell his supporters to vote for Giscard in the second round of the election. Giscard d'Estaing lost to Mitterrand by 3 points in the runoff, ending a 23-year conservative presidential span. He blamed Chirac for his defeat.
Giscard d’Estaing was seen as an important person in modernising France and making the European Union strong. He was popular because his presidency passed many small social reforms, such as lowering the voting age by three years, allowing divorce by common consent, and legalising abortion.
However, he was unable to fix the great economic crisis of his term, a worldwide economic recession caused by a massive increase in oil prices. His foreign policy was remembered for his close relationship with West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Together they helped expand and made Europe's economic power stronger as they pushed for the European Monetary System and helped create the G-7 system.
After he lost in 1981, Giscard d'Estaing retired for a short time from politics. In 1984, he was re-elected to his seat in the National Assembly and won the presidency of Auvergne. He was President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions from 1997 to 2004.
In 1982, along with former U.S. President Gerald Ford, Giscard d'Estaing co-founded the annual AEI World Forum. He has also was a member of the Trilateral Commission after being president.
Giscard d'Estaing hoped to become prime minister after the re-election of Mitterrand, but he was not chosen for this job. During the 1988 presidential campaign, he did not support two of his two former Prime Ministers Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre.
Giscard d'Estaing was President of the UDF from 1988 to 1996. Most of the UDF politicians supported the candidacy of the RPR Prime Minister Édouard Balladur at the 1995 presidential election, but Giscard d'Estaing supported Chirac, who won the election.
In 2000, he created a proposal to limit the length of a presidential term from seven to five years, a proposal that eventually won its referendum proposal by President Chirac. Following his retirement from the National Assembly his son Louis Giscard d'Estaing was elected.
In 2003, Giscard d'Estaing became a member of the Académie française. In 2004, he became a member of the Constitutional Council. His support for creating a European Constitution, were criticised. Many believed Giscard should have been removed from the council and be given a life membership in the Senate.
He supported the presidential campaigns of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 and François Fillon in 2017. In 2013, Giscard d'Estaing supported same-sex marriage in France.
On 21 January 2017, he became the oldest former president in French history.
Giscard d'Estaing was a supporter of a stronger European Union. From 1989 to 1993, Giscard d'Estaing was a member of the European Parliament. From 1989 to 1991, he was also chairman of the Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group.
From 2001 to 2004, he was President of the Convention on the Future of Europe. On 29 October 2004, the European heads of state approved and signed the European Constitution based on a draft supported by Giscard d'Estaing's work at the Convention. Although the constitution was not approved by French voters in May 2005, Giscard d'Estaing continued to support for its passage in other European Union states.
Giscard d'Estaing was a supporter of the Lisbon Treaty.
In 2008 he became the Honorary President of the Permanent Platform of Atomium Culture. On 27 November 2009, Giscard d'Estaing started the Permanent Platform of Atomium Culture during its first meeting, held at the European Parliament.
Giscard d'Estaing's name was often shortened to "VGE". He was also known as "l'Ex", especially during the time he was the only living former president.
On 17 December 1952, Giscard d'Estaing married Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes. His family did not live in the presidential Élysée Palace during his presidency. In 1974, "Le Monde" reported that he used to leave a letter about where he was in case of an emergency.
In May 2020, Giscard d'Estaing was accused of touching a German journalist's buttocks during an interview in 2018. He denied the accusations, saying that he never did this, however apologised to the reporter.
In 2005, he and his brother bought the castle of Estaing. However, many newspapers in different countries why they bought with many believing they wanted to become French nobility. It was put up for sale in 2008 for €3 million It is now owned by the Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Foundation.
Giscard d'Estaing wrote his second romantic novel, published on 1 October 2009 in France, titled "The Princess and the President". It tells the story of a French leader having a romantic affair with a character called Patricia, Princess of Cardiff. This caused many rumours that the book was based on a real-life affair between Giscard d'Estaing and Diana, Princess of Wales. He later said that such an affair never happened and that the book was fictional.
On 14 September 2020, Giscard d'Estaing was hospitalised for breating problems at the Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou in Paris. He was later diagnosed with a lung infection. He was hospitalised again on 15 November, but left the hospital on 20 November.
Giscard d'Estaing died of problems caused by COVID-19 on 2 December 2020 during the pandemic in France at his Authon, Loir-et-Cher home, aged 94. His funeral and burial was held on 5 December in Authon with forty people going the event.
President Emmanuel Macron released a statement calling Giscard d'Estaing a "servant of the state, a politician of progress and freedom". Macron declared a national day of mourning for Giscard d'Estaing on 9 December. Former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, 2017 presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and European Union leaders Charles Michel, David Sassoli, and Ursula von der Leyen all talked positively about Giscard d'Estaing's role in modernising France and relations with the European Union.
Giscard d'Estaing was honoured with the Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour and of the Ordre National du Mérite.
In 1966, he was made Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. In 1973, Giscard d'Estaing was honored with the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 1975, Giscard d'Estaing was honoured with Portugal's Grand Collar of the Order of Saint James of the Sword. In 1976, he was honoured with the Order of the Bath, and Order of the Southern Cross.
In 1978, Giscard d'Estaing was made Knight of the Order of the Elephant and honoured with the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry by Portugal. That same year, he was honored with the Order of Charles III by Spain. In 1980, Giscard d'Estaing was honoured with the Order of the Seraphim.
In 1979, he was given the Nansen Refugee Award.
In 2003, Giscard d'Estaing received the Charlemagne Award of the German city of Aachen. He was also a Knight of Malta.
Mohammad Hasan Sharq