French, and aristocratic by birth, de Ganay offered his services to the French Resistance during World War II. He was recruited by the Prosper network and aided Allied airmen who had been shot down and were on the run.
When Prosper was betrayed, de Ganay fled to Britain. He joined Britain’s Special Operations Executive and returned to France prior to D-Day to commit acts of sabotage against railways and canals.
After the war, he married, inherited the family château and became mayor of Courances.