Gaxotte was born in Revigny-sur-Ornain, Meuse.
He began his career as a history teacher at the Lycée Charlemagne and later worked as a columnist for Le Figaro.
Over the course of his life he authored numerous historical studies, and was elected to the Académie française in 1953.
[1] He is famous for his critical vision of the French Revolution, notably in The French Revolution (1928),[2] and for his rehabilitation of the French 18th century (Louis XV's Century, 1933).
He is also known as a far-right-wing journalist of the Entre-deux-Guerres period, with links to the Action française and the newspaper Je suis partout.