Bernard Zappoli's contribution to the French scientific life

In November 2014, at the annual meeting of the research group “Fundamental and Applied Microgravity” held in Carqueiranne, France, I was asked to speak on Bernard Zappoli and his accomplishments. The following is an edited transcription of the speech delivered in his honor following his recent retirement as the Head of The Physical Science Programme at the French Space Agency (CNES). After an introduction outlining his human qualities and retirement as engineer emeritus, his career is summarized. It then details the scientific activities he has undertaken during different periods of his career at several universities, the European Society of Propulsion (“Société européenne de propulsion”, SEP), and the CNES. Special attention is devoted to the research groups at the CNES/CNRS that we initiated and the management of which I had been sharing with him for several years. Allusion is made to his recent and new retiree activities.