Born November 13 1948, Libourne (Gironde), married, four children.
Education and professional career
- 1971 : Agrégé de lettres classiques
- 1973-1977 : Assistant in Egyptology at the Sorbonne (Paris-IV)
- 1977 : Doctorate in Egyptology and Ancient Oriental History, University of Paris-IV
- 1977 : Scientific member of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, Cairo
- 1981-1988 : Assistant professor, then senior lecturer in Egyptology at Paul-Valéry University (Montpellier-III)
- 1984 : Doctor of State in Letters and Humanities
- 1988-2000 : Professor of Egyptology at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (Paris-IV)
- 1988-2000 : Director of the Centre de recherches égyptologiques at the Sorbonne
- 1989-1999 : Director, Institut français d'archéologie orientale
- 1990-2005 : Scientific Director of the Franco-Egyptian Center for the Study of the Temples of Karnak, co-director of UPR 1002 of the French National Center for Scientific Research
- 2000-2020 : Professor at the Collège de France, Pharaonic Civilization : Archaeology, Philology, History
- 2000 : Chairman of the " Chaire de l'Égypte " at the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen de Nice
- Since 2014 : General Secretary of the Advisory Commission on Archaeological Research Abroad
- Scientific advisor to the " Archäologie und Altertumswissenschaften " center of the Vienna Academy of Sciences (Austria)
Learned societies and academies
- Member of the Institute of Egypt, Cairo
- Corresponding member of the Deutsches Archäolo-gisches Institut, Berlin
- Member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (France)
- Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria)
Awards and distinctions
- 1987 : Gaston Maspero Prize,Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres
- 1989 : Prix Diane Potier-Boes from the Académie française
- Commander of the Order of Academic Palms
- Officer in the National Order of Merit
- Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honor