Roubaix did not receive any formal education in music, but began studying jazz on his own at age 15, forming a band and learning
trombone as an
autodidact. His father, the Oscar-winning filmmaker , who was a producer of the short film, "
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and the creator of educational films, offered to let François compose scores for the latter. François' first film score was for a 1961 film by
Robert Enrico; through the late 1960s and early 1970s he scored films for Enrico,
Jose Giovanni,
Jean-Pierre Melville,
Jean-Pierre Mocky, and
Yves Boisset. Notable in his style is his use of folk elements, as well as
electronic musical instruments such as
synthesizers and early
drum machines. He is thus seen as a precursor of
French electronic music. Roubaix had a home studio where he would
overdub parts until he was satisfied with the result. He died in 1975 in a diving accident. In 1976, his score for
Le Vieux Fusil was awarded a
César Award. ==Scores==