Kerlérec had to struggle in greater than usual isolation during his administration, as the French government was immersed in conducting the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763) in Europe.

During his governorship, relations between the Jesuit and the Capuchin orders in the colony were strained, and the local Indian tribes threatened to switch allegiances to the British if they were not provided with more supplies and trade goods.

Kerlérec tried to hire Swiss mercenaries for defense, but the Commissary-Commissioner, Vincent de Rochemore, refused to pay for them.

Kerlérec and Rochemore had many public quarrels; the latter accused Kerlerec of stealing money from the colony's treasury and acting as a dictator.

Kerlérec ordered Rochemore and two allies (treasurer and comptroller Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan and Antoine Philippe de Marigny) recalled to France, but they succeeded in turning the government against him.