Editing Childeric I (section)

===Origin of Napoleonic bees===

When [[Napoleon]] was looking for a heraldic symbol to trump the Capetian [[fleur-de-lys]], he settled on Childeric's bees as symbols of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]]. The minutes of a meeting of the ''[[Conseil d'État (France)|Conseil d'État]]'' held at [[Château de Saint-Cloud|Saint-Cloud]] in June 1804 suggest that it approved the symbolism of the bees on a suggestion by [[Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès|Cambacérès]]. The design was made by [[Vivant Denon]], Director of the [[Louvre]].<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Belin|page=68|title=La France avant la France, (481–888)|author1=Geneviève Bührer-Thierry|author2=Charles Mériaux|date=2010|location=Paris}}</ref>