Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in 1879 he was for a short time Under-Secretary to the Minister of the Interior.

In 1880 he came to the fore as the leading spokesman of the party which favoured the protection of French industries, and he had a considerable share in fashioning the protectionist legislation of the years 1890–1902.

[1] His tenure in these roles ended in 1898, after losing the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies following the 1898 French legislative election, being succeeded as Premier by Henri Brisson.

[2][3] At one time he edited La République francaise, and after his retirement from public life he wrote Le Retour de la terre et Ia surproduction industrielle, tout en faveur de l'agriculture (1905).

[4] Méline's Ministry, 29 April 1896 – 28 June 1898:[citation needed] Changes