The former president was regarded as a pioneering social reformer. Elected when he was 48, Giscard is credited with making strides in modernising French society, instituting policy changes such as allowing divorce by mutual consent, legalising abortion and lowering the voting age to 18. However, the election of Valéry Giscard was the wind of freedom blowing in the country, and the lowering of the voting age to 18 and the abolition of the penalty for abortion are symbols of the freedoms of his era. Also, Giscard Daz’s different behavior in a country whose presidents had conservative behavior before is one of the other characteristics of his presidency.
He helped liberalise the economy and oversaw the launch of projects like France’s high-speed TGV train network. He was also seen as more modern in deportment than his predecessors, a relaxed, charismatic figure dubbed ‘VGE’. He once hosted a breakfast at the Elysée Palace for garbage collectors and was known to attend dinners at the homes of French citizens. It was during his time that the “Group of Seven” including seven industrialized and rich countries of the world was formed, and together with Helmut Schmidt, the chancellor of Germany, the Franco-German axis was also strengthened. However, Giscard Destin’s presidency was not an easy one. He experienced his first crisis in this period with the resignation of Jacques Chirac from the position of Prime Minister.
