Infected with COVID-19, the former French president dies at the age of 94

COVID-19 takes the life of former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The former president has died at the age of 94 after complications from the dangerous virus.

Giscard d'Estaing, who served as France's leader from 1974 to 1981, was a center-right politician who liberalized divorce, abortion and contraceptive laws during his seven years at the Elysée.

"His death has plunged the country of the French nation into mourning," Macron added.

Giscard d'Estaing was recently hospitalized in Tours with respiratory problems. He died at his home after several health complications.

"His health condition had deteriorated and he died as a result of Covid-19," his family said in a statement.

The former president's last public appearance was on September 30 last year for the funeral of another French political figure, former president Jacques Chirac.

Giscard d'Estaing was elected president at the age of 48, after years of Gaulist rule in France, and immediately sought to liberalize the economy and social attitudes. His radical reform fostered modern French society, allowing divorce by mutual consent and legalizing abortion, as well as lowering the voting age to 18 years. He did not, however, attempt to abolish the death penalty. He also 'threw away' the ceremonial uniform, chosen by previous presidents for their portraits and official occasions.

In his message of condolence, the leader of Macron's ruling La République En Marche (LREM) party, Christophe Castaner, said: "His modern policies and progressive determination... Will long mark his legacy."

Meanwhile, the former minister and presidential candidate, Giscard, who was also one of the friends of the former French president, said that "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing dominated almost naturally with his presence, his distinction, his language, his liveliness and his intuitions. "

The former French president also gave his contribution in Europe. He helped spur the movement towards monetary union, in close cooperation with his German counterpart, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, with whom he became friends, and the years of his leadership almost shifted with his.

Together they launched the European Monetary System (EMS), a forerunner of today's single currency, the euro.

Giscard d'Estaing came from a French upper class family and was part of the elite. He studied at the elite of Francecole Polytechnique of France and École Nationale d'Administration, home to the country’s political class.