Trained in law and political science, Brinon joined the Journal des Débats (1909; “Journal of Debates”) and was its editor in chief from 1920 to 1932. After creditable service in World War I, he became an ardent advocate of a reconciliation between France and Germany. In 1939 he became political editor of L'Information. He was the first French journalist to interview Adolf Hitler and became a leading member of the France–Germany Committee and the Circle of the Great Shield, influential political–business organizations.

In November 1940 Brinon was appointed Vichy representative to German-occupied French territories and later (April 1942) a secretary of state. When the government of Philippe Pétain and Pierre Laval was deported from Vichy and refused further collaboration with the Germans (August–September 1944), Brinon headed a “government commission” with its seat at Belfort. After that futile effort, he fled to Germany, was captured by the Allies, and was executed as a collaborator in 1947. A posthumous edition of his Mémoires, based on his personal papers, appeared in 1949. Other books by Brinon include En Guerre: Impressions d'un témoin (1915; “At War: Impressions of a Witness”) and a pro-Nazi piece called France–Allemagne, 1918–1934 (1934; “France–Germany, 1918–1934”).