In this file photo taken on November 23, 2015, former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing poses for photographers during the state funeral of late former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt outside of the Sankt Michaelis church, in Hamburg. — AFP pic
He ensured that Paris was at the heart of Europe in a post-war partnership with Germany and also played a key role in what would become the G7 group of major world powers. Tweeting in French and English, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Giscard a “hugely important figure in modernising France”.
The europhile president was born in the German city of Koblenz while it was under French occupation in the aftermath of World War I. Tall and slender with an elegant, aristocratic manner, he studied at elite schools — Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale d’Administration. But Macron’s predecessor Francois Hollande noted in his tribute that balancing his desire to be a man of the people with his background and education was not always easy.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.