[1] Early in his career, he served as chief of the French troops in China during the Second Opium War (1856–1860).

Among the officers under his command in Japan was Jules Brunet, who would play a key role in the conflict between the Shogun and the restoration forces of the Meiji Emperor during the Boshin War.

Due to the involvement of the Mission in supporting the Shogun, Chanoine had to leave Japan with the majority of the other French advisors in October 1868, per orders of the new emperor Meiji.

Those who chose to remain, led by Jules Brunet, sent letters of resignation from the French army before joining the forces of the Shogun.

During his Ministry, Chanoine named Jules Brunet, his former aide in Japan thirty years earlier, to the position of Chief of Staff of the French army ("Chef d'Etat Major").