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.