French people's affection for giant panda Yuan Meng

A girl waits to bid farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng in front of the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

French people bade farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng, who was the first giant panda born in France.

PARIS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Yuan Meng, the first giant panda born in France, has left France for China. When seeing Yuan Meng off at the airport on Tuesday, French first lady Brigitte Macron said he represents an "absolutely unbreakable friendship" between France and China.

Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, displays a photo of her with four-month-old giant panda Yuan Meng at the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Yuan Meng's returning journey to China in a customized cage filled with bamboo came a few days before his sixth birthday. What affection do the French people have for him? How was Yuan Meng's life in France? Let the following photos tell.

A boy waits to bid farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng in front of the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

People bid farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng (in the van) in front of the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

People wait to bid farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng in front of the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, bids farewell to giant panda Yuan Meng at the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

A customized cage carrying giant panda Yuan Meng is load onto a plane at the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, France, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

This photo taken on July 24, 2023 shows the giant panda Yuan Meng at Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France. Yuan Meng, the first giant panda born in France in 2017, will return to China on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

People watch the giant panda Yuan Meng at Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, France, on July 24, 2023. Yuan Meng, meaning "the realization of a dream" in Chinese, was born in Beauval on Aug. 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The giant panda baby "Yuan Meng" approaches his birthday cake during his birthday celebration ceremony at the ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, France on Aug. 4, 2018. (Xinhua/ZooParc de Beauval) (lrz)

Visitors watch the panda baby "Yuan Meng" at the Zooparc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, France on Jan. 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) (lrz)

Photo taken on Jan. 13, 2018 shows the panda baby "Yuan Meng" and his mother "Huan Huan" in Zooparc de Beauval, Saint-Aigan, France. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) (lrz)

Photo taken on Jan. 13, 2018 shows the panda baby "Yuan Meng" in Zooparc de Beauval, Saint-Aigan, France. The first panda cub born in France "Yuan Meng" debuts with the public on Saturday morning. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) (lrz)

French President Emmanuel Macron (C, Front) reacts with the panda cub Yuan Meng at Beauval zoo in Saint-Aignan, central France, on Dec. 16, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday visited Yuan Meng, the country's first-ever panda cub, while he was celebrating his 40th birthday with family at Beauval zoo, the zoo said in a statement. (Xinhua/Beauval zoo)