Henri Roy was born on 17 February 1873 in Le Bouchaud, Jura, son of a schoolteacher in the small town.

The Dreyfus affair gave him an interest in politics, and for two months he contributed to the journal La Volonté that Franklin Bouillon and Pierre Baudin had founded in 1897.

He then accepted the job of chief editor of the radical Orléans daily Le Progrès du Loiret.

[1] Roy ran successfully for election in 1906 as deputy in the 2nd district of Orléans as the Republican and Radical candidate.

[1] On 8 November 1934 he joined the cabinet of Pierre-Étienne Flandin as Minister of Public Works, holding office until 31 May 1935.