Ford driver Bouffier fitted a snow tyre on one of his front wheels and another diagonally opposite at the rear to get the perfect grip and this allowed him to snatch the lead after the third stage.
World champion Sebastien Ogier of France won the last two stages of the day (5th and 6th) with his Volkswagen and was lying in fourth place 47.3 seconds off the pace, almost eight seconds behind third-placed Robert Kubica (Ford) of Poland.
Former Formula One driver Kubica, who is in his first full season in the world championship, was a surprise leader after the first two stages but like Ogier paid the price for poor tyre choice in the icy third stage and slipped down the rankings.
"It was a tough day for us. I'm not happy with my choice of tyres," Ogier said.
Kris Meeke (Citroen) was second, 38.8 seconds behind Ogier, after making the same tyre choice as the Frenchman.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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