Enfantin was born in Paris, the son of a banker of Dauphiné. After receiving his early education at a lyceum, he was sent in 1813 to the École polytechnique. In March 1814 he was one of the band of students who, on the heights of Montmartre and Saint-Chaumont, attempted resistance to the armies of the Sixth Coalition which had engaged in the invasion of Paris. In consequence of this outbreak of patriotic enthusiasm, the school was soon after closed by Louis XVIII, and the young student was compelled to seek another career.