Gallois was born in Turin, Italy, in 1911 as his parents were travelling. Gallois grew fond of flying as he watched fighters during his childhood through World War I. After studies at Lycée Janson de Sailly and the War School in Versailles, he was made a sous-lieutenant in 1936 in a Sahara wing at Colomb-Béchar, and promoted to lieutenant the same year. In 1939, he was transferred to the general staff of the Fifth Air region in Algiers.
In 1943, Gallois reached Great Britain and joined the only two French heavy bomber squadrons in RAF Bomber Command as a Halifax bomber crewman at RAF Elvington, near York. He took part in raids against German industries until March 1945.
After the war, Gallois was detached to civil aviation and took part in conferences of the International Civil Aviation Organization. He rejoined the Air Force in 1948 as an aide in the cabinet of the chief of staff of the Armée de l'air. A specialist of equipment and manufacturing, he wrote the quinquennal plan for aeronautic production, which was accepted by the Parliament in August 1950, and studied production plans at the European level. He took part in discussions regarding the use of American aid in Western Europe.
Gallois was a staunch supporter of Serbia during the Balkan clashes, and one of the main critics of NATO and its role in the Yugoslav crisis.[citation needed]
Gallois died on August 24, 2010, at the age of 99.
