Hernu was born in
Quimper, Finistère, but received part of his higher education in Belgium. In 1946 he was a student at the
Catholic University of Leuven in that country. There, he was one of the founders of a fraternity named
Reuzegom. During this period he was known by the codename "Charles the invincible", which referred to his growing alcohol abuse habits and perseverance in seducing women. Also, in these days, Hernu developed his deep aversion toward environmental activists. Hernu began his career working in the National Center of Foreign Trade (C.N.C.E.). In 1953, he created the "Club of the Jacobins", which ideologically was near to the radical (though non-communist) left, and which supported future Prime Minister
Pierre Mendès France. On 2 January 1956 (after Mendès France had lost the Prime Ministry but was still a powerful cabinet figure), Hernu was elected to the French legislature from the 6th sector of the Seine (
Aubervilliers,
Saint-Denis,
Montreuil,
Vincennes), on the Republican Front ticket. After the accession of
Charles de Gaulle to the presidency, he lost his seat in Parliament. In 1962, Hernu allied himself with the increasingly prominent Socialist Party figure
François Mitterrand. During the 1970s, he became the Socialist Party's specialist on defence affairs, military and
nuclear questions. In April 1974, he formed the "Coran", or convention of the reserve officers for the new army, which amalgamated with the Commission of the Defence of the PS. Three years later, he was elected mayor of
Villeurbanne, which became an appointive position the following year (but which he continued to hold till his death). Hernu was made Minister for Defence after the victory of Mitterrand in the
presidential election of 1981. He held this position in the successive governments led by Prime Ministers
Pierre Mauroy and
Laurent Fabius. ==
Rainbow Warrior bombing==