[1] He was born to a wealthy family, of Jewish ancestry, his father was an engineer, and his mother was a Czech fashion journalist, who had settled in Paris for work.

[5][6] By September 1942, encouraged by Vichy ineffectiveness in the face of Nazi occupation and his own communist views, he began working with Libération-sud as a courier.

[10][11] He worked closely with Raymond Aubrac and Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont in Toulouse, directing so many attacks that the city would be described as 'Toulouse la rouge.

[9][12] Despite receiving this promotion, Ravanel criticized the resistance group Corps Franc de la Montagne Noire on political grounds, opposing them due to his communist leanings.

Another bone of contention for de Gaulle was the high regard with which Ravanel held the Spanish maquisards who had led the liberation of Toulouse and other southern departments.