List of presidents of France by longevity

The median age of accession is roughly 60 years and 257 days, which falls between Albert Lebrun and Gaston Doumergue. The youngest person to assume office was Emmanuel Macron (age 39 years, 144 days). The oldest person to assume office was Adolphe Thiers (age 74 years, 135 days).

The oldest living former president is Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, born 2 February 1926 (aged 94 years, 131 days). He is also the longest-lived president since 21 Jan 2017 at the age of 90 years, 356 days when he outlived Émile Loubet, who died at the age of 90 years, 355 days. The youngest living former president is Nicolas Sarkozy, born 28 January 1955 (aged 65 years, 136 days). The youngest living president is the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, born 21 December 1977 (aged 42 years, 174 days). The shortest-lived president was Sadi Carnot, who was killed in office at the age of 56 years, 318 days.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing has the distinction of having the longest retirement of any former president, currently at 39 years, 22 days since leaving office on 21 May 1981. He surpassed the previous record, held by Émile Loubet (23 years, 305 days) on 22 March 2005. The president with the shortest retirement is François Mitterrand, who died on 8 January 1996, 236 days after he left office on 17 May 1995.

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This List contains:

Not all presidents live to become the oldest of their time. Of the 21 deceased presidents, 17 eventually became the oldest of their time, while 4 did not (Raymond Poincaré, Paul Deschanel, Gaston Doumergue, and Jacques Chirac being the only exceptions). Émile Loubet became the oldest living president when Félix Faure died in 1899 and remained so until his death in 1929, for a record single period of 30 years, 307 days. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing surpassed Loubet's record on 18 November 2019, however because Giscard d'Estaing has held this distinction on two separate occasions, Loubet's record for a single period still stands. Jean Casimir-Perier became the oldest living president after the death of Marie Carnot, but he held this distinction for only 206 days.

On four occasions the oldest living president lost this distinction not by his death, but due to the inauguration of a president who was older. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte lost this distinction when Adolphe Thiers was inaugurated. Jean Casimir-Perier lost this distinction when Félix Faure was inaugurated. Vincent Auriol lost this distinction when René Coty was inaugurated, but when Coty died in 1962, Auriol regained it again until his own death in 1966 for a total period of 6 years, 356 days. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing lost this distinction when François Mitterrand was inaugurated, but regained it again when Mitterrand died. Consequently, Giscard d'Estaing too was the oldest living president twice: first from 1974 to 1981 (from his inauguration after the death of Georges Pompidou), and a second time since Mitterand's death in 1996 for a record total period so far of 31 years, 150 days.

Armand Fallières was the oldest to acquire this distinction at the age of 88 years, 44 days. Jacques Chirac, who was aged 86 years, 301 days when he died on 26 September 2019, was the oldest and most recent president to die without ever acquiring this distinction.

• Births by Century
  • 18th century: 1st (and only), Adolphe Thiers
  • 19th century: 1st, Jules Grevy; last, Charles de Gaulle
  • 20th century: 1st, Georges Pompidou; most recent, Emmanuel Macron
• Deaths by Century
  • 19th century: 1st, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte; last, Felix Faure
  • 20th century: 1st, Jean Casimir-Perier; last, François Mitterrand
  • 21st century: 1st and most recent, Jacques Chirac.
• Between the births of Adolphe Thiers in 1797 and Emmanuel Macron in 1977, a President has been born in every decade except for the 1810s, 1820s, 1900s, 1940s and 1960s.
• Between the deaths of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in 1873 and Jacques Chirac in 2019, a President has died in every decade except for the 1880s, 1910s, 1980s and 2000s.
• The months with the most presidential births – seven – in August.
• No president as of yet, has been born in May, or September.
• The months with the most presidential deaths – three – each in January, April, June and September.
• No president as of yet, has died in July or August

• Lists of political office-holders by age