ABSTRACT
Napoleon’s popularity at home was at a low point. The treaty of Tilsit in 1807 had brought hopes of peace, but less than a year later here was France at war again, this time with Spain. A plot to overthrow Napoleon and place Murat on the throne had been hatched by Talleyrand and Fouché, Napoleon’s minister of police. Napoleon had learned of this and dismissed Talleyrand. Fouché was left in place with a warning, but in later years the Emperor’s leniency would come back to haunt him.
