Olivier de Germay country of citizenship France
Early life and career
Olivier de Germay was born on 18 September 1960 in Tours, France. He was the third of five children born to Christian de Germay, a general in the French army, and Claude Bullier. He studied at the Military Lyceum in La Flèche and the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr in Coëtquidan, earning an engineering diploma and the rank of captain. Beginning in 1986 he served five years as an army paratrooper based in Tarbes, taking part in missions in Chad, Central Africa and Iraq. He left the army with the rank of lieutenant. He later described a moment of insight he experienced while on duty in Africa:
 I lived a few days in the desert. I met people there who lived on three times nothing and who were happier than me. People who exuded an inner peace, while I was grappling with diffuse feelings of unease. I suddenly realized that by leading a life centered on myself, I was moving away from the essential. At that time, I didn't think of becoming a priest, I only had the irrepressible desire to change my life...
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