AbroadFamily and people close to him said goodbye to the French former president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in an intimate funeral service on Saturday morning. That happened in his native village of Authon in central France.
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Giscard d’Estaing died of Covid-19 on Wednesday at the age of 94. His wish was to hold a small-scale farewell ceremony attended by about 40 people. His coffin was draped in French and European flags and carried into the Saint Hilaire church in Authon.
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The former president is buried next to his daughter Jacintha, who died in 2018, on a private family property near Authon cemetery. France will hold a day of national mourning on Wednesday.
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Center-right Giscard d’Estaing was president from 1974 to 1981. His successor François Mitterrand died in 1996 and his successor Jacques Chirac died last September. Chirac’s funeral was also the last time Giscard d’Estaing was seen in public.
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Europe
Under Giscard d’Estaing, France has made great strides in nuclear energy, high-speed trains and legalized abortion. He was also considered one of the architects of European unification.
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Prosecutors opened another investigation into the former leader in May, after a German reporter filed a complaint about alleged pawing after an interview in 2018. He allegedly touched her behind several times. Giscard d’Estaing denied the charge.
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