SummaryC.-E. Labrousse's two main works, Esquisse du mouvement des prix et des revenus en France au XVIIIe siècle (1933) and La crise de l'economic française à la veille de la Révolution (1944) have greatly influenced French economie history since 1945, and above ail the seriai approach. The latter is now manifesting its limits, leading one to reflect anew on its founding works and their interprétation. This article's intention is threefold. Our concern isfirstly to show that Labrousse's work was accepted by historians at the cost of a reduction in content and a misunderstanding of its intentions. A rereading, motivated by current investigations, is thus necessary. Secondly, we show how the Labroussian method is akin to an experimental approach imposing precise stages on analysis and supposing a construction of historical facts. It is against these requirements that the coherency and limits ofthe two books must be judged. That is the goal of the last part of this article where the demonstrative ability of the method developed by Labrousse in analyzed.