The second half of the career of Fouché demonstrates survival skills unmatched in intelligence history. After serving Napoleon for over a decade as Minister of Police, Fouché faced dismissal in 1810 when the Emperor grew tired of his independence. For most officials, losing the favor of Napoleon meant the end of their career or worse. For Fouché, it was merely another transition to manage through intelligence, calculation, and betrayal.
What followed was a masterclass in political survival. Fouché served the restored Bourbons, then Napoleon again during the Hundred Days, then the Bourbons again - each time positioning himself as indispensable while maintaining secret contacts with all sides. His role in organizing the abdication of Napoleon after Waterloo and managing the transition to prevent civil war demonstrated how intelligence expertise could make a former regicide valuable even to the monarchy he had helped destroy.
The moral questions raised by the career of Fouché remain relevant today. He betrayed virtually everyone he served, used surveillance and blackmail to accumulate power, and switched sides whenever advantageous. Yet he also preferred precision over terror, often protected former officials during regime changes, and arguably served French interests even while serving himself. His legacy includes both the techniques that make modern intelligence services effective and the ethical problems that continue to plague the intelligence community.
This episode examines how Fouché navigated the fall of Napoleon, the Bourbon restoration, the Hundred Days, and the final settlement of 1815, surviving through betrayal while creating the template for professional intelligence services that would influence espionage for generations.
