[citation needed] In 1951, at the request of the High Commissioner Bernard Cornut-Gentille, he joined the administration in French Equatorial Africa (AEF) to prepare colonies for independence.

[2] He then wrote many articles, including "Tips from colony to his successors" in the newspaper La Roue, an independent body appearing in French Sudan in the years 1950-60.

[citation needed] In 1961, he returned to France at the request of Interior Minister Roger Frey to be appointed the Chief of Staff, a position he has to face the actions of the OAS.

He served under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1975 as defense minister, increasing the budget and modernizing the equipment of the armed forces, notably by adopting the FA-MAS in 1975 and the launch of the nuclear submarine Inflexible.

[1][2] Bourges was General counsel from 1964 to 1988, he met the head of the municipality of Dinard between 1971 and 1989 and, succeeding Raymond Marcellin, he chaired the Regional Council of Brittany from 1986 to 1998.