Thuriot was born in Sézanne, Marne, France in 1753. Admitted to the bar in Paris (1778), he practiced law at Reims before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. He took part in the events of 14 July 1789, acting as a negotiator on behalf of the revolutionaries, meeting with the governor of the Bastille just before the doomed fortress was stormed. During the term of the National Assembly he was named a tribunal judge for the district of Sézanne (1790) and became a member of the Jacobin Club.