Author of several books, including The Use and Abuse of History: Or How the Past Is Taught.

[1] He was Director of Studies in Social Sciences at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales.

He was a co-director of the French review Annales and co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary History.

He also directed and presented television documentaries on the rise of the Nazis, Lenin and the Russian revolution and on the representation of history in cinema.

[2] Ferro died from COVID-19 complications in Maisons-Laffitte in April 2021, at the age of 96.