Franco-German relations in the giscard-schmidt Era, 1974-81

Abstract

Beginning in the 1960s, both Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Helmut Schmidt had important ministerial responsibilities in their respective countries. Both were in charge of economic and monetary affairs at the beginning of the 1970s and thus took a leading role in shaping Franco-German relations when it came to addressing international monetary turbulence and launching the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) decided in 1969 at the Hague summit. Between 1969 and 1972, the relations between Giscard and his German counterpart, Karl Schiller, were strained. Both the working atmosphere and actual cooperation improved when Helmut Schmidt took over Schiller’s position. Giscard and Schmidt got along very well right from the beginning, and this personal relationship would play an important role in the years to come. In the spring of 1974, the two men came to occupy the highest positions of power in France and Germany, and the pair would remain in office until 1981. A number of factors contributed to the ensuing reinvigoration of the Franco-German alliance, which had suffered from the restrictions added by the German Bundestag with a preamble to the Elysée Treaty.