Jean François-Poncet was appointed General Secretary of the French presidency in 1976. He was then Foreign Minister for France (1978 – 81). After having been president of the General Council of Lot-et-Garonne (1978 – 94), he is senator of this department since 1983, where he acts as President of the Commission for town and country planning.. He teaches at Sciences Po in Paris, and is a regular contributor to French newspaper Le Figaro since 1984.
He is member of Jacques Delors Institute‘s Board of Directors.