[1] While born in Marseille, Fumaroli grew up in the Moroccan city of Fez,[2] and served in the French army during the Algerian War.

He is acknowledged for the revival of Rhetoric as field of study of European culture, in a sharp move away from both structuralism and post-modernism.

He was also a member of the Académie des Inscriptions, the sister academy devoted to high erudition.

[7] Fumaroli was promoted to commander of the French Legion of Honor in 2008, after previously being named chevalier in 1993 and officer in 2002.

[1] After his death, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron praised Fumaroli as one of the country's greatest ever storytellers and historians.