Yuan Meng, the first giant panda born in France, has left the country for China.
He represents an "absolutely unbreakable friendship" between the two countries, said French first lady Brigitte Macron. She saw him off at the airport.
Visitors at the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, central France, gathered Tuesday morning to bid farewell to Yuan Meng ahead of his departure back to China, 10 days before the giant panda's sixth birthday.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service