Abstract: After the Treaty of Beijing in 1860，France assigned Protet，the first commander in chief of the French Naval Division in China Sea，to lead the joint operation with Qing Dynasty against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Protet was killed during the Engagement at Nanqiao in 1862，which made him the foreign commander with the highest rank who was killed by Taiping Army. This article examines the death of Protet from angles from both home and abroad as well as the reaction by related parties，also pointing out that the high-class memorial ceremonies by different parties are from their own purposes: Qing court wanted to win support from France to suppress Taiping Army while France viewed Protet as the executor of the Far East Strategy of Napoléon III to expand their impact in China. Through the analyses of what Protet did during his stay in China and the impact on the political issues，we can reveal in depth France’s reason of its own interest in the joint operation and its tricky relationship with China.