Promoted to Lieutenant, Piquemal served as a section (platoon) chief, then as sports training officer for legionnaires, and next as assistant (French: adjoint) to the Commandant of the 4th combat company of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, 2e REP.[4] With the same rank, Piquemal next served under the command of Général Marcel Bigeard.

In September 1974, he was assigned to the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9e RCP at Toulouse where he perpetuated his command time as a captain.

Already holding an engineering diploma from Supélec,[5] in 1969 he began to study nuclear engineering at the University of Paris-Jussieu (French: Université de Paris-Jussieu) and at the School of Military Nuclear Energy Applications (French: École des Applications Militaires de l'Energie Atomique) and consequently earned a technical brevet for higher military studies from the Superior War College (French: École Supérieure de Guerre).

In August 1985, Piquemal was appointed as commanding officer of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 3e REI, a two-year posting until 1987.

[9][10] In 1994, with the rank of Général de division, Piquemal took command of the French Foreign Legion, a fighting force of various religious faiths which includes also numerous Muslim Legionnaires, a combat leadership role which Foreign Legion general Piquemal held until 1999.

[2][3] Piquemal was brought into the international media spotlight when he was arrested for being present at an unauthorized manifestation which took place at the same time as another far right Pegida organized demonstration (which he claime not to be associated with in any form)[14] in Calais on 6 February 2016.

[18] The Chief of the Defence Staff, General François Lecointre, sends a letter to Piquemal "to tell him that he is unworthy, dirties the army, weakens it by making it a subject of national controversy".