He quickly earned his first cap for France on 2 December 1964, aged 22, against Belgium. He was then part of France squad at the FIFA World Cup 1966 in England playing in all France's games.
Coming back from the World Cup he signed with AS Saint-Étienne, where he won his first titles and was widely regarded as the best French footballer of the 1960s, winning the French player of the year award in 1967 & 1968.
He surprisingly left Forez for Olympique Marseille along with goalkeeperGeorges Carnus in 1971 winning the "double" with Olympique Marseille in his first season. He finished his football career at FC Martigues eventually making 354 appearances in 11 seasons. His goalscoring record of 43 goals in very good for a defender and was helped by his great free-kick prowess.
He had then a short career of sport director and discovered talented players such as Grégory Coupet or Ľubomír Moravčík when he worked for AS Saint-Étienne. He currently organises coaching for young footballers.