He received an agrégation in history in 1965 and began teaching at the Lycée Ambroise-Paré in Laval before working as a research assistant at the Université de Montréal in Canada until 1970.

[2] The university developed much of its infrastructure during his presidency, with the opening of the Harp Campus in 1993 being a major step.

A social science research center was also created as part of the Modernization plans of French universities.

[5] Jean Brihault, elected on 15 March 1996, would succeed Lespagnol as president of the university.

He would take care of several tasks, such as the revival of priority zones, reform in lyceés, decentralized movement of lycée staff, and the establishment on multi-site middle schools in rural areas to help avoid their closure.