In 1778 he escaped from prison, but was soon re-arrested and finally committed to the Bastille.
In 1783 he published a pamphlet, called Essais historiques, critiques, litteraires, et philosophiques, for which he was imprisoned in the Bastille.
She became the great protectress of the Jansenists; it was in her house that Arnauld, Nicole and De Lane were protected; and to her influence must be in great part attributed the release of Lemaistre De Sacy from the Bastille, the introduction of Pomponne into the ministry and of Arnauld to the king.
In 1789 he was given the command of a battalion of the National Guard, and took part in the storming of the Bastille.
The plan was unsuccessful, and soon after his return to Paris Brissot was lodged in the Bastille on the charge of having published a work against the government.