invoked his proposals for a "New Society", which he had tried to apply when he led the cabinet (from 1969 to 1972), but he was supported by the "Barons of Gaullism" who held the bulk of ministerial offices for 16 years. His challengers denounced the continuation of the UDR-state, that is to say the appropriation of the state by the Gaullist Party. Giscard d'Estaing portrayed himself as "the change in the continuity", a "modern turn" for the French politics, in the incumbent majority and more reassuring for moderate voters than the Common Program which was characterised as a collectivist project. He benefited from the divisions in the UDR. Indeed, 43 Gaullist personalities close to Pompidou and led by the young Interior Minister Jacques Chirac published an appeal insinuating that Giscard d'Estaing was more likely than Chaban-Delmas to defeat Mitterrand. As a result, the left-wing candidate faced the leader of the Independent Republicans in a very competitive run-off. For the first time in the history of the French presidential elections, a Radio-TV-debate between the two finalists was organized. Mitterrand presented his competitor as the representing of the elites who pursued unfair policies, while Giscard d'Estaing criticized his opponent to be "a man of the past". The turnout reached a record of over 87% and Giscard was elected with a margin of only 424,599 votes. He nominated Chirac as Prime Minister. Result See also President of France Politics of France Further reading Bell, David. François Mitterrand: A Political Biography (Polity, 2005). Berstein, Serge, Sergej Natanovič Bernstejn, and Jean-Pierre Rioux. The Pompidou Years, 1969–1974 (Cambridge University Press, 2000). Criddle, Byron. "The French presidential election." The World Today 30.6 (1974): 231–238. online Hayward, Jack, and Vincent Wright. "'Les deux France' the French presidential election of May 1974." Parliamentary Affairs 27.1974 (1974): 208–236. External links Radio-TV debate Valéry Giscard d'Estaing/François Mitterrand France President Presidential elections in France François Mitterrand