A former director of France Culture and several French institutes abroad (including the UK and Prague), he has also headed the Association Française d’Action Artistique (AFAA) and the Académie de France in Rome. He is a Diplomat, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Musée National de la Marine. He is the former French Ambassador to Tunisia and the current Ambassador for the Poles and Maritime Issues. A writer and philosopher by training, he is the founder and chairman of the Marathon des mots.
