Payrefitte was born on 15 June 1922 in
Bagnères-de-Luchon, a spa town in the
Pyrénées that is commonly known as Luchon. He studied in
Toulouse. He was employed for many years at his family's restaurant in Luchon, and became the proprietor in 1980. He was also a journalist for
La Dépêche du Midi from 1961 to 1974, and a correspondent for the
AFP from 1962 to 1974. He was active in his professional associations and local tourist organizations, including as vice president of the canton's
Chambre syndicale de l'industrie hôtelière de la Haute-Garonne (1970–1982), president of the
commune's restaurant association (1969–1980), and served many years on the board of the
Pyrenees regional
Confédération pyrénéenne touristique. He served in local government in the 1970s to 1990s in the
Haute-Garonne council, representing at large his town of Bagnères-de-Luchon (1977–1992) and was regional councilor for the
Midi-Pyrénées (1980–1986). He was elected mayor of his home town (1974–1995). In the
Senate election of 28 September 1980, as a candidate of the Socialist Party, he was elected to a nine-year term. He was re-elected to a second nine-year term on 24 September 1989. In the senate, he supported
rural development, the European Union, social security, and tourism development. He died on 11 November 2017, at the age of 95, and was named a
chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. ==Political offices held==