General Michel Franceschi began his military career in 1951 at the officer's school at Saint-Cyr and concluded it in 1990 in the rank of Général de Corps Armée (General of Corps). General Franceschi's profession encouraged the study of military history.

A Special Historical Consultant to the International Napoleonic Society, General Franceschi is the author of Democracy Massacred: Witness in New Caledonia (1998) and Corsica: The Voice of the Silent Majority (2001).