Giscard's foundation said he died in his family home in the Loir-et-Cher region of central France. He had been admitted to hospital in September with respiratory complications, and was hospitalised again in mid-November.
His funeral will be an intimate family affair, the Valery Giscard d'Estaing Foundation said on Twitter.
Giscard was elected president in 1974 at the age of 48, becoming France's youngest postwar leader.
