Yon entered the École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud in 1987,[1] obtaining a master's degree in contemporary history with his study Les notaires parisiens sous le Second Empire (Parisian notaries during the Second Empire) which went on to win the Prix Favard de Langlade offered by the Institut international d’histoire du notariat in 1993.
[2] Yon, in his 2000 study, notably advanced understanding of Offenbach's place within the sociological history of his times.
[3] Yon took part in the 2004 documentary directed by Gérald Caillat The Missing Manuscript, about the textual history of Les Contes d'Hoffmann.
[7] He believes that approaches can complement and enrich each other and at the heart of such a collaboration the historian must "opérer la mise en contexte des œuvres" (contextualize the works).
In relation to Offenbach or Scribe he believes it preferable to confront them through history, literature, performing arts, musicology and law, in connection, for example, with censorship, or the right to whistle in theatres in the 19th century”.