Respect.’ In the last four decades of his life, even though he was busy in some relatively ceremonial government positions, he was mostly present in “memories,” and this caused a kind of depression in him. During the 14 years of Mitterrand’s presidency and almost all of Chirac’s presidency, Valéry Giscard D’Estaing was considered “the only living former president of France” and participated in television programs with the same title and made comments or expressed memories.
His presidency marked a clear break from the Gaullist conservatism of postwar France which had been dominated by Charles de Gaulle himself, and his successor Georges Pompidou. In France he is remembered for his radical reform drive which included the legalisation of abortion, the liberalisation of divorce and lowering the voting age to 18. But the name Valerie Giscard Destin is tied to the revolution in this country that happened in February 1979 (1357 BCE) and during his presidency.
