The man who almost built a United States of Europe—and why he couldn't.
Over half a century of public service, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing embodied the dream of a united and strong Europe. From the youthful enthusiasm of the 1950s to the disillusionment of the 2005 referendum, his career chronicles an ideal confronted with the realities of power, national resistance, and populist winds. He tirelessly attempted to realize his youthful dream: a United States of Europe.
Direction
Cayatte weaves six decades into coherent political tragedy.
Editing
Archival footage cuts between hope and crumbling institutions.
Writing
Narration treats EU politics like actual human drama.
Director
Gilles Cayatte
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Giscard's 1978 'Avenue de l'Europe' speech in Strasbourg coined the phrase 'United States of Europe' in French political discourse, a rhetorical flourish that haunted him for decades.
The 2005 constitutional referendum's failure—53% 'non' in France—killed the document Giscard had spent 18 months drafting as Convention president, making this documentary structurally a postmortem of his life's work.
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