The references are poor, the conclusions drawn are inaccurate, and the differences between Napoleon and Talleyrand are stark-Napoleon was an honorable man and an excellent head of state. Talleyrand was for Talleyrand, nothing more, nothing less. He had been in the pay of Napoleon's enemies before he was sacked, and he was sacked for rapacity and then worked for the return of the Bourbons.
Talleyrand's interests were for himself, not for France. He was one of the French diplomats involved in the infamous XYZ affair with the United States in 1797-1798. Interestingly, he encouraged Napoleon to arrest d'Enghien, and then when the Bourbons returned he positioned himself so that he appeared to have attempted to dissuade Napoleon from arresting and then having d'Enghien executed.
This paper is poor with poor sourcing, relying on Bourrienne and Talleyrand, both of which are dubious, at best. Bourrienne's were ghost-written by Maxine de Villemarest and Talleyrand's were 'tinkered with' by Bacourt 'under the direction of Talleyrand's niece, the Duchesse de Dino.'
Both Talleyrand and Fouche had a major part in creating the proscription lists for the Bourbons after Waterloo, Talleyrand apparently congratulating the lists that Fouche came up with as most of Fouche's friends were on it. Fouche also regarded Lafayette as an 'old imbecile whom one can use like a…ladder which one throws down after one has used it. Fouche died in in exile in Trieste friendless but rich in 1820.
