Boulay was the son of an agricultural labourer, born at Chamousey (
Vosges). He became orphaned at an early age and was adopted by his uncle l'Abbé POIROT. Called to the bar at
Nancy in 1783, he presently went to
Paris, where he rapidly acquired a reputation as a
lawyer and a speaker. He supported the revolutionary cause in
Lorraine, and fought at
Valmy (1792) and
Wissembourg (1793) in the republican army. But his moderate principles brought suspicion on him, and during the
Terror he had to go into hiding. He represented
La Meurthe in the
Council of Five Hundred, of which he was twice president, but his views developed steadily in the conservative direction. Fearing a possible renewal of the Terror, he became an active member of the plot for the overthrow of the
Directory in November 1799. He was rewarded by the presidency of the legislative commission formed by
Napoleon to draw up the new constitution; and as president of the legislative section of the council of state he examined and revised the draft of the civil code. In eight years of hard work as director of a special land commission he settled the titles of land acquired by the French nation at the
Revolution, and placed on an unassailable basis the rights of the proprietors who had bought this land from the government. He received the grand cross of the
Legion of Honour and the title of count, was a member of Napoleon's privy council, but was never in high favour at court. After
Waterloo he tried to obtain the recognition of
Napoleon II. He was placed under surveillance at Nancy, and later at Halbesstadt and Frankfort-on-Main. He was allowed to return to France in 1819, but took no further active part in politics, although he presented himself unsuccessfully for parliamentary election in 1824 and 1827. He died in Paris on 4 February 1840. His books on English history, contained much indirect criticism of the Directory and the Restoration governments. He devoted the last years of his life to writing his memoirs, which, with the exception of a fragment, remained unpublished as of 1911. ==Works==