He entered the Saint-Cyr Military School on 1 October 1933 as part of the King Albert I promotion and graduated in 1935.
Raffalli joined the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy in 1943 and served with distinction.
He was promoted to Chef d'Escadrons on 1 July 1951 and led the battalion during the Battle of Nghia Lo in October 1951.
Camp Raffalli, the headquarters of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2ème REP) is named in his memory.
The song of the promotion recalls the arms celebration of Chef d'Escadrons Raffalli .