Macron celebrates birthday with panda cub

World
Europe

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 in Saint-Aignan, central France, the zoo said in a statement.

"The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron came to celebrate his 40th birthday at the ZooParc de Beauval, with his family, during a private visit ... to Yuan Meng, the baby panda godson of Brigitte Macron," the zoo added.

During a naming ceremony on December 4, French First Lady, new panda's godmother, announced with Chinese officials that the four-month-old cub's name was Yuan Meng which fittingly means “the realization of a wish” or “accomplishment of a dream” in Chinese.

French First Lady Brigitte Macron attends a naming ceremony of the panda born at the Beauval Zoo on December 4, 2017. /AP Photo

“Yuan Meng and his parents represent the bond between the countries which have a lot to share,” Brigitte Macron said at the naming ceremony.

Born on August 4, the baby panda had been called as "Mini Yuan Zai," referring to his father Yuan Zai, who arrived with his female partner Huan Huan in central France's Beauval zoo in January 2012. Both are at the zoo on a 10-year loan from China, and their offspring officially belong to the Chinese government.

The panda baby, who will return home at the age of three, can be seen by visitors to the zoo as of January 13.

Source(s): AP ,Xinhua News Agency