He commanded the naval elements of the expeditionary force that carried out the Invasion of Algiers in 1830 and went on to become Minister of the Navy three times.

He spent a few years with the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri at the Collège de Juilly, before enlisting at 16 on the Henri IV, a French East Indiaman.

In 1808, commanding the frigate Sirène, he led a troop convoy to Martinique; returning to France, he was intercepted by a British blockade off Lorient, and managed to escape by beaching his ship.

Duperré was sent to the Isle de France (now Mauritius) aboard the frigate Bellone, fighting several British ships in the process, notably the action of 3 July 1810.

In October 1823, he was made vice-admiral, grand officier de la Légion d'honneur and Commander of the Order of Saint Louis in 1824.

Though Duperré was critical towards the expedition against Algiers, Charles X made him commander of the fleet which ferried troops under Bourmont to depose the Algerian Regency.

The fleet of the invasion of Algiers and shipwreck of Dellys was 103 warships strong, with 572 freighters ferrying 35 000 soldiers, 3 800 horses and 91 heavy guns.

In 1840, a budget project for the Duke of Nemours was rejected, which made the government collapse; Duperré then said: "The ministry has received a round shot in the belly, which has gone to hit the wood of the Crown."