Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing was buried next to his daughter's grave in a low-key ceremony in his home village on Saturday.

Giscard, who led France from 1974 to 1981, died last Wednesday aged 94 after contracting COVID-19. 

He was buried in a private plot next to the village cemetery in Authon, in central France. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only around 30 mourners were allowed.

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The quiet ceremony contrasted with the funeral of former president Jacques Chirac in 2019, which included a military tribute and was attended by dozens of heads of state. 

Carried into the church by four pallbearers, Giscard's coffin was draped in the flags of France and the European Union.

At the time of his election victory over Socialist rival Francois Mitterand in May 1974, Giscard was the youngest president in the history of the Fifth Republic. Current president Emmanuel Macron broke his record three years ago.

In a tribute following Giscard's death, Macron said: "The direction he gave France still guides us today." 

Giscard was credited with laying the foundations for the euro single currency after forging a close relationship with West German chancellor Helmut Kohl. Socially liberal, he also presided over the modernization of French society.

France will observe a day of national mourning in his memory on Wednesday, with people encouraged to write tributes in books placed in town halls.

_{Cover picture: Damien Meyer/AFP}