In 1974, France saw its first open campaign for the election of a president. It was also the first time that television shaped a campaign and affected its results. Raymond Depardon, who was given intimate access for filming the winning candidate of this contest, presented a strategy aimed more at appeasement than conflict. An era of mediatized modernity was beginning for political communication, of which Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was the protagonist.