Educated as an attorney, Petisné entered the government service as an attaché to the office of the Under-Secretary of State for Fine Arts.

He later served as general secretary of Vienne, Gironde (1917), Rhône police (1918), and prefect of Mayenne (1920).

[1] On 1 May 1921, Petisné succeeded Dominique Joseph Odry, who was appointed by the League of Nations, as high civil commissioner of the region.

[5] As commissioner, Petisné avoided establishing closer economic and cultural relations with Lithuania, publishing several legal acts regulating the economy and social life of the region.

[10] On 19 February, he left Klaipėda with Entente warships, fully surrendering the region to Lithuania.