# Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected president (1974)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1974-valery-giscard-d-estaing-elected-president
Location: France
Categories: ruler-change

The centrist reformer won a close election against François Mitterrand. Within the broader Fifth Republic period, The 1958 Constitution created a stronger presidency and a durable Fifth Republic. Decolonization, European integration, social change, economic shocks and recurring debates over identity, secularism and the role of the state have shaped contemporary France. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (President of the French Republic). Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy.

Ruler at the time: [Valéry Giscard d’Estaing](https://history-france.com/rulers/valery-giscard-d-estaing)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected president](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Val%C3%A9ry+Giscard+d%E2%80%99Estaing+elected+president&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected president](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Val%C3%A9ry+Giscard+d%E2%80%99Estaing+elected+president)
- [Élysée — Institutions of the Fifth Republic](https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-institutions)
- [Élysée — Presidents of the Republic](https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-presidents-of-the-republic)