Fournier spent his childhood and studies in
French Algeria. He was a student at the
École nationale d'administration from 1951 to 1953 and subsequently served as a legal advisor at the French Embassy in Morocco from 1961 to 1964. He then served as a ''
Conseiller d'État'' and was on
Plan Commission. He served as , then from 1982 to 1986 before being relieved of his duties by
Renaud Denoix de Saint Marc. He then served as President of
Gaz de France from 1986 to 1988. He subsequently served as President of
SNCF from 24 August 1988 to 1 March 1993. A political activist, Fournier became a member of the
Socialist Party following the
Epinay Congress and joined the . Jacques Fournier died on 14 August 2021 at the age of 92. ==Publications==