On 27 July 1956, he married Isabelle Viennot with whom he had six children: Emmanuel, Anne, Sophie, Pascale, Jean-Philippe and Delphine.
In 1958, Maheu began working for the Court of Audit and joined the Comité Rueff-Armand [fr] the following year.
From 1962 to 1967, he served as Secretary General of the Presidency of the French Republic [fr] under Charles de Gaulle.
[2] He was active in the world of music, working for the Ministry of Culture as a lyricist and directing the Orchestre de Paris from 1974 to 1979.
In 1983, he was named President of the Centre Pompidou, succeeding Jean-Claude Groshens [fr].