Liberally educated and trained as a teacher, Michel developed her revolutionary ideas while teaching (1866–70) at Montmartre, in Paris. During the German siege of Paris (1870–71), she worked in the ambulance service and in 1871 fought zealously with the National Guard defending the Paris Commune against the Versailles troops. After the defeat of the Commune she was court-martialed and sentenced to prison.

Freed by the amnesty of 1880, Michel renewed her revolutionary campaign and lectured throughout France, but she was imprisoned for three years for inciting a riot. From 1886 to 1896 she lived in London, always keeping in touch with revolutionary developments on the Continent. In 1896 she returned to France and lectured on revolutionary themes until her death. Her writings reveal a strong sense of social consciousness. Besides her Mémoires (1886), she published both poetry and prose.