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从政生涯
踏入政界 (1954-1959)
从1954年6月到12月，时年29岁的季斯卡担任Edgar Faure总理的内阁助理秘书长。1956年，当选Puy-de-Dôme省众议员。其曾外祖父Agénor Bardoux与外祖父Jacques Bardoux曾经分别于十九二十世纪在该省出任众议员。同年他也被任命为法国驻联合国大会代表团成员。他也在1958年当选省议员，并担任到1974年为止。
戴高乐执政期间 (1959-1969)
庞比度执政期间 (1969-1974)
庞比度任命他为Jacques Chaban-Delmas内阁（1969-1972）的经济财政部长，并在Pierre Messmer内阁（1972-1974）中继续担任此一职务。
他也从1967年起担任Puy-de-Dôme省Chamalières市的市长，直到1974年为止。
1974年总统大选
在庞比度过世后，季斯卡在1974年4月2日宣布参加总统选举。由于得到希拉克的支持，季斯卡在第一轮投票中击败了Jacques Chaban-Delmas。
在第二轮投票前，与密特朗的辩论使季斯卡获得相当的优势，其中“不是只有你才有良心”（Vous n'avez pas le monopole du cœur）堪称具有代表性之名句。他以50.81%的得票率险胜，成为第五共和第三任总统，时年48岁。
总统任期 (1974-1981)
季斯卡首先任命希拉克担任总理，但两人间关系紧张，希拉克并于1976年辞职。继任者为季斯卡誉为“法国最佳经济学者”的Raymond Barre。他推动了若干对法国社会影响重大的制度改革：如离婚改为经由双方同意、堕胎合法化、将成年门槛从21岁降到18岁等。
在季斯卡任内，两次石油危机也中止了光辉三十年的经济成长。因应节约能源的呼声，政府在1976年恢复了夏令时间，以借由日照节约电力。季斯卡也决定继续投入由庞比度提出的民用核能发展计划。此时失业率也大幅攀升。
此外，季斯卡也是欧洲宪法的热情支持者：他从踏入政坛开始就支持欧洲合众国的理念。他主张在“超国家的强势欧洲”与“受制各成员国的弱势欧洲”之外寻求“第三条路”。他创设了欧盟高峰会。并协助扩增欧洲议会的权力，特别是在预算审查方面。
虽然季斯卡在个人立场上支持以终身监禁取代死刑，他仍拒绝了对三名死刑犯行使特赦（其中两名为谋杀儿童，另一名为奸杀儿童）。这也是法国最后执行的死刑。
His tenure as President was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues — such as divorce, contraception, and abortion — and attempts to modernize the country and the office of the presidency, notably launching such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the high-speed TGV train and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. However, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the "thirty glorious years" after World War II, unfortunately combined with the official discourse that the "end of the tunnel was near". Furthermore, Giscard faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly-unified left of François Mitterrand, and from a rising Jacques Chirac, who resurrected Gaullism on a right-wing opposition line. All this, plus bad public relations, caused his unpopularity to grow at the end of his term, and he failed to secure re-election in 1981.
He is a proponent of the United States of Europe and, having limited his involvement in national politics after his defeat, he became involved with the European Union. He notably presided over the Convention on the Future of the European Union that drafted the ill-fated Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. He took part, with a prominent role, to the annually held Bilderberg private conference. He also became involved in the regional politics of Auvergne, serving as president of that region from 1986 to 2004. He was elected to the French Academy, taking the seat that his friend and former President of Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor had held. As a former President, he is a member of the Constitutional Council. It is a prerogative that he has taken recently.