The outbreak of the French Revolution profoundly changed Chamfort's life. He threw himself into the republican movement, forgetting his old friends at court and devoting his small fortune to revolutionary propaganda. He became a street orator and was among the first to enter the Bastille when it was stormed. Until 3 August 1791 he was secretary of the Jacobin club. He worked for the "Mercure de France", collaborated with Pierre-Louis Ginguené in the "Feuille villageoise", and drew up for Talleyrand his "Addresse au peuple français".