The former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, a key architect of European integration in the early 1970s, has died at the age of 94 after being positive for Covid-19.
Giscard, who served as France’s leader from 1974 to 1981, had recently been hospitalised in Tours with respiratory problems, and was released only to return to hospital in mid-November. He died at his family home nearby after suffering from complications linked to the virus, according to a statement issued by the foundation he had set up and chaired.
“His state of health had worsened and he died as a consequence of Covid-19,” his family said in a statement. The Foundation Valéry Giscard d’Estaing tweeted on Wednesday: “In accordance with his wishes, his funeral will take place in the strictest family intimacy.”
He was elected president at 48, coming to power after years of Gaullist rule, and sought to liberalise the economy and social attitudes. He was credited with launching major projects including France’s high-speed TGV train network.
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