Former French leader Valery Giscard d’Estaing dies aged 94

Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who has died after contracting Covid-19 (PA)

Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, has died at the age of 94 after contracting Covid-19.

Mr Giscard d’Estaing’s office said he passed away in his family home in the Loir-et-Cher region, in central France. He had recently been admitted to hospital in the town of Tours.

“In accordance with his wishes, his funeral will take place in strict privacy,” his office said.

Mr Giscard d’Estaing, seen here meeting then Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his capacity as President of the European Convention at No 10 Downing Street (PA)

Born in 1926, Mr Giscard d’Estaing served in the Free French army that helped liberate France during World War II. Charles de Gaulle named him finance minister at age 36.

As president, he helped forge a single Europe with his close friend, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Together they laid the foundations for the euro single currency.

Considered at the time a model of a modern president, Mr Giscard d’Estaing notably legalised abortion and divorce by mutual consent.

He lost his re-election bid in 1981 to Socialist Francois Mitterrand.