He was born in Rouen, but spent most of his childhood at Le Havre, and moved to Paris in 1917.

He was the owner of a profitable advertising firm, but sold it in order to devote his time to writing plays.

Encouraged by Charles Dullin, he wrote in a wide range of styles and enjoyed great success from the mid-1930s.

[1] During the Nazi occupation of France, he participated in the clandestine French Resistance, an experience which he celebrated in Les Nuits de la colère.

[2] He was a member of the Académie Goncourt, and a library in his home town is named after him.