[1] His earliest known ancestor is Jean Pérouse (died 1663), procurer, mayor of Vienne.
Born in Amiens, he gained a diploma from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris.
He thus took responsibility for its research and documentation, coordinating their method and vocabulary and presiding over the national commission.
He is a member of France's Académie d'architecture and of the 'conseil scientifique' Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio (CISA, aka Palladio Museum).
His son Marc-Antoine specialises in the politics of conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa and teaches at the Sciences Po Paris.