He took great interest in political affairs, with which the last few years of his life were entirely occupied. Elected a member of the National Assembly in 1871, he zealously supported the Orleanist party. Between May and November 1873 he was Minister of the Interior in the Broglie ministry.
His other important works are: Études sur le Peloponnese (2nd edition 1875); Les Monnaies d'Athenes (published in 1858); L'Architecture au siècle de Pisistrate (published in 1860); and Fouilles à Carthage (published in 1861).
Beulé was also the author of high-class popular works on artistic and historical subjects: Histoire de l'art grec avant Pericles, the second edition of which was published in 1870, and Le Proces des Cesars published in four parts between 1867 and 1870.