Friends in Europe

Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who died on Wednesday, is tied to Greek history by his providing his presidential plane to bring Greek statesman Konstantinos Karamanlis back to Greece from France as the seven-year dictatorship was collapsing in July 1974. At a moment of great confusion and danger, the symbolism of the French president's gesture was clear as day: Karamanlis had the international community's support in his mission to restore democracy in Greece. In the years that followed, the relationship between the two men played an important role in Greece's future, as Karamanlis had persuaded Giscard d'Estaing that a Europe cut off from its Greek roots would not be Europe and that Greece should join as soon as possible. The French president consolidated his support by visiting Athens in September 1975, shortly after Karamanlis had applied formally for Greece's accession to what was...