Member of the Resistance during WWII, he became in 1959 a leader with
Jacques Foccart et Achille Peretti of the S.A.C (Service d'action civique) the private police of the Gaullist movement of which he had been a member since 1947. He was elected to different political positions as mayor or member of Parliament. He became one of
Jacques Chirac 's closest allies. His voice and accent which sounded like
Fernandel and his sense of humor helped him in his carreer as a politician.