Panorama

France's Seven-Year Itch (1981x16)

: 27, 1981

For seven years Giscard d'Estaing has been the dominant force in French politics, and French prosperity has been the envy of Europe. But his critics say he has become arrogant and autocratic, more a king than a Republican President. They blame him for not preventing rising unemployment and inflation in France. On the day following the first round of the Presidential Election, David Dimbleby reports on the state of France after seven years of Giscard's rule, and on how the French people are making up their minds about who should be their President for the next seven years.