GERMANY AS A

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50 YEARS OF THE ÉLYSÉE TREATY
MÉNAGE À DEUX
The 1970s saw international economic problems multiply:
the Bretton Woods monetary system disintegrated,
replaced by floating exchange rates, while the
world was shaken by oil shocks, economic crisis and
rising unemployment.
In the face of these difficulties, Germany’s Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt and France’s President Valéry Giscard
d’Estaing formed an effective, youthful tandem with a
more pared-down, modern style. That is not to say that
Germany and France always agreed – but their
constant dialogue made progress possible.
Hélène Miard-Delacroix, professor and Franco-German
relations expert at the Sorbonne, writes, “This was one
of those phases in Franco-German political relations
during which the constraints imposed by the Élysée
Treaty were superfluous”.
The “Abibac” was instituted as a Franco-German combined higher
education entrance qualification.
The years 1970-1980 saw the election of a European
Parliament by universal suffrage and the
creation of the European Space Agency (ESA) as
well as Franco-German schools and a Franco-
German baccalaureate.
Franco-German coordination spread from the bilateral
to the European level and onto the world stage. Valéry
Giscard d’Estaing and Helmut Schmidt helped create
the G7 to bring together the world’s most industrialized
countries, as well as the European Council, which
would ensure regular meetings for Europe’s heads of
state and government.
President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (l.) and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (r.)
The “snake in the tunnel” currency band of 1972 and
the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) that
followed in 1978 made it possible to stabilize the
currencies of Europe. These were the foundations of
the future European monetary union.
The European Parliament has been elected by universal suffrage since 1979.
© Picture-alliance / dpa
© Picture-alliance / dpa