Talleyrand had realised early on that Napoleon’s megalomania would drive him into making miscalculations, and he foresaw that sooner or later the Emperor would lead his army and himself to destruction. Talleyrand wished to save France – and himself – from that unpleasant eventuality. In September 1808, during a meeting of the two Emperors at Erfurt in Germany, he had made his position clear to Alexander, and remained in secret contact with him from then on.
