 He was promoted to Général de corps d'armée in 1958, commander of the Oran Corps in 1959, Inspector General of the Infantry in 1960 and finally commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria in 1961.He was arrested by the rebellious generals during the Algiers putsch in April 1961.He was the director of the French military history commission from 1969 to 1989.