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從政生涯
踏入政界 (1954-1959)
從1954年6月到12月，時年29歲的季斯卡擔任Edgar Faure總理的內閣助理秘書長。1956年，當選Puy-de-Dôme省衆議員。其曾外祖父Agénor Bardoux與外祖父Jacques Bardoux曾經分別於十九二十世紀在該省出任衆議員。同年他也被任命為法國駐聯合國大會代表團成員。他也在1958年當選省議員，並擔任到1974年為止。
戴高樂執政期間 (1959-1969)
龐比度執政期間 (1969-1974)
龐比度任命他為Jacques Chaban-Delmas內閣（1969-1972）的經濟財政部長，並在Pierre Messmer內閣（1972-1974）中繼續擔任此一職務。
他也從1967年起擔任Puy-de-Dôme省Chamalières市的市長，直到1974年為止。
1974年總統大選
在龐比度過世後，季斯卡在1974年4月2日宣佈參加總統選舉。由於得到希拉剋的支持，季斯卡在第一輪投票中擊敗了Jacques Chaban-Delmas。
在第二輪投票前，與密特朗的辯論使季斯卡獲得相當的優勢，其中“不是衹有你纔有良心”（Vous n'avez pas le monopole du cœur）堪稱具有代表性之名句。他以50.81%的得票率險勝，成為第五共和第三任總統，時年48歲。
總統任期 (1974-1981)
季斯卡首先任命希拉剋擔任總理，但兩人間關係緊張，希拉剋並於1976年辭職。繼任者為季斯卡譽為“法國最佳經濟學者”的Raymond Barre。他推動了若幹對法國社會影響重大的制度改革：如離婚改為經由雙方同意、墮胎合法化、將成年門檻從21歲降到18歲等。
在季斯卡任內，兩次石油危機也中止了光輝三十年的經濟成長。因應節約能源的呼聲，政府在1976年恢復了夏令時間，以藉由日照節約電力。季斯卡也决定繼續投入由龐比度提出的民用核能發展計劃。此時失業率也大幅攀升。
此外，季斯卡也是歐洲憲法的熱情支持者：他從踏入政壇開始就支持歐洲合衆國的理念。他主張在“超國傢的強勢歐洲”與“受製各成員國的弱勢歐洲”之外尋求“第三條路”。他創設了歐盟高峰會。並協助擴增歐洲議會的權力，特別是在預算審查方面。
雖然季斯卡在個人立場上支持以終身監禁取代死刑，他仍拒絶了對三名死刑犯行使特赦（其中兩名為謀殺兒童，另一名為姦殺兒童）。這也是法國最後執行的死刑。
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.