Born in 1820, he became a student at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure but was dismissed for his opposition to the Empire. His "Propos de Labienus", an influential satire of the imperial regime, forced him into exile. Returning after the proclamation of the Republic in 1870, he contributed to a number of newspapers and was elected to the Commune in the 6th arrondissement, but resigned because his turnout was too low. He was sentenced to death and fled abroad, but returned after the amnesty in 1880 and pursued a career as a teacher in poverty. He died in Paris in 1896.

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