In 1965, Debarre decided to devote his life to sculpture and drawing after a meeting with Alberto Giacometti. He studied mathematics at the Lycée Georges Clemenceau in Nantes. After graduation, Debarre moved to Nice and first studied primary colors. He then relocated to Paris in 1973 and began a series of blue monochromes, which he exhibited the following year at the Museum of the Holy Cross Abbey in Les Sables-d'Olonne. At this exhibition, Italian sculptor Antonino Virduzzo invited Debarre to one of his workshops in Rome.
Debarre primarily used black marble from Belgium and blue granite from Brazil for his sculptures. He also worked with a contemporary material, called altuglas.
