His parents met as graduate students studying German at the Sorbonne, and he became fluent in German as a child. He was a sickly child, and did poorly in the many schools he attended. During WWII, 22 German soldiers were billeted at his family's house. His school grades improved, and he enrolled in the Sorbonne, where he earned a degree in philosophy and law. Four years of German philosophy at the University of Tübingen followed. When he returned to France in 1949, he failed the philosophy exam to become certified as a university teacher.
