Career
He served as chef de bataillon in the Fusiliers Marins. He trained with British Force 136, the Southeast Asian branch of the Special Operations Executive, the British military espionage and covert action force. In 1945, he parachuted into Cambodia, at that time occupied by the Japanese.
He prepared the landing of the troops of General Leclerc.
He served in the Indo-Chinese Campaign (1951–1954) as an intelligence officer, and in the Algerian campaign (1958–1961). He was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
