In 1931, Jean Bousquet was received "cacique" (first) at the admission competition of the École normale supérieure, in the same class than his future friend Georges Pompidou.
An archaeologist and epigrapher, Jean Bousquet was one of the leading specialists of the Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi where he led several excavation missions, and of the site on the island of Delos.
In this capacity, he undertook the publication of accounts of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, a set of papers which allowed to assess the balance of power in the classical Greek world.
His discretion and efficacity served him in coping with student unrest following May '68 and a distressing incident involving the death in 1980 of the wife of the renowned Marxist thinker, Louis Althusser.
In 1981, at the end of his term in office, he returned to teaching and was elected a Greek language and civilization professor at the Paris-Sorbonne University, a position he held until his retirement.