After obtaining his law degree, Arpaillange began a judicial career in 1949. He became ''Secrétaire Général du Parquet de la Cour d'Appel de Paris
("Secretary Prosecutor General of the Paris Court of Appeal") and Secrétaire Général du Parquet de la Cour de Cassation'' ("Secretary Prosecutor General of the
Cour de Cassation") in 1962. Seconded to the
Ministry of Justice from 1965 to 1974, Arpaillange became adviser to the Minister and, on several occasions, Chief of Staff for the Minister of Justice and Director of Criminal Affairs and Pardons at the Chancellery. He was also a member of the ''Haut Conseil de l'Audiovisuel'' ("High Council for the Audiovisual Industry") in 1973. Adviser to the Supreme Court from 1974, he was promoted to
Attorney General at the
Cour de Cassation in 1984. He became
Keeper of the Seals and
Minister of Justice in
Michel Rocard's first and second governments (12 May 1988 to 1 October 1990). He famously committed a verbal blunder in the
National Assembly during a 1990 debate, stating: "In 1989, out of 52
escapees, we've recaptured 53." He left the government in 1990 to serve as a member of the ''Comité d'Honneur du Bicentenaire de la Cour des Comptes'' ("Bicentennial Committee of Honour of the
Cour des Comptes"). ==Decorations==