Armand Dupont

In the novel Death in the Clouds, Armand Dupont is a French archaeologist. He is the father of Jean. At the beginning of the novel, the Duponts board the Prometheus for a flight to England, where Armand is to deliver a lecture before the Royal Asiatic Society.

Armand is described as being devoted heart and soul to his profession. He had given up a flourishing business as an antique dealer to devote himself to excavation.

During the flight of the Prometheus, Armand and his son were engaged in a discussion on the prehistoric pottery of the Near East, and so they noticed very little of what was going on around them. Armand did, however, notice a wasp towards the end of lunch, and his son had killed it.

At the inquest, Armand is asked if he knew Madame Giselle by sight, and he says that he had never seen her before. It is pointed out that Madame Giselle was a well-known figure in Paris, but Armand says that he is hardly in Paris these days. He had recently returned from Persia. He is asked if he has ever come across a race of people who used snake venom as an arrow poison, and he replies that he has not.

Later in the novel, Jane Grey accompanies Poirot to Paris as his secretary, and they have dinner with Armand and Jean. After the two young people go to the cinema, Poirot asks Armand if he accepts private donations. Poirot offers a donation of five hundred pounds, and Armand nearly falls across the table in his excitement, as this is the biggest private donation they have ever had. Poirot says that he will make the donation if Jane is allowed to go with them on the expedition.

Portrayals
Armand Dupont is not featured in the Agatha Christie's Poirot ITV TV series adaptation of the novel. However his son Jean does appear and tells Jane Grey that his archaeologist father passed away one year before the events of the episode, thus in 1935.