# First direct elections to European Parliament (1979)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1979-first-direct-elections-to-european-parliament
Location: France / Europe
Categories: main-event

French voters participated in the first direct elections for the European legislature. 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). First direct elections to European Parliament mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems. 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
First direct elections to European Parliament mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems.

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

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — First direct elections to European Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=First+direct+elections+to+European+Parliament&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — First direct elections to European Parliament](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=First+direct+elections+to+European+Parliament)
- [Élysée — Institutions of the Fifth Republic](https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-institutions)