Petitbon was born in Pau in 1902.[1] After earning a Bachelor of the Arts in 1923, he completed his military service between 1925 and 1926. He then taught in lycées in Saint-Étienne and Clermont-Ferrand until joining the Alsatian Bank Society in 1928.[2] He became deputy director for the Haut-Rhin region in 1935 and then served as director general of the Banques Populaire of the North Paris region from 1937 until 1944.[2]
A member of the resistance during the Nazi occupation, he was appointed prefect of Aube in 1944. The following year he relocated to Algeria to become prefect of Constantine, a role he held until 1949. He then became Inspector General of Administrative Affairs in French West Africa.[2] He was appointed Governor of French Polynesia in 1950, remaining in post until 1954 when he was appointed Governor of French Somaliland.[3] He served in French Somaliland until 1957, and later worked in Algeria again between 1961 and 1962.[2]
