French footballer Kylian Mbappé will be the godfather of one of the two panda twins born in early August at the Beauval zoo, the zoo's deputy director told AFP on Wednesday.
The Chinese Zhang Jiaqi, gold medal in synchronized diving 10 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, will be the godmother of the other baby panda.
The godfather and godmother of the panda twins will reveal the final Chinese names of the young plantigrades during an official ceremony scheduled for November 18.
To discover
Ligue 1 fixtures and results
League 1 standings
Read alsoPSG: Mbappé, profession savior
“
It is an honor for Beauval that such athletes lean on the cradle of our baby panda.
Their commitment highlights, especially with young people, the importance of protecting endangered species and biodiversity,
”Delphine Delord, deputy director of the Beauval zoo, told AFP.
In December 2017, First Lady Brigitte Macron baptized Yuan Meng, the twin's older brother born on August 4 of the same year in Beauval to a couple of pandas on loan from Beijing, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi.
Read also PSG's notes against Leipzig: Mbappé in the good moves, Kimpembe in the bad
Since 2016, giant pandas are no longer "
in danger
" of extinction on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
But the species remains "
vulnerable
", while 500 pandas live in captivity and 2,000 in the wild in China.
According to tradition, the names of babies will be chosen by the Chinese First Lady.
China, which loaned Yuan Zi and Huan Huan for ten years to France in 2012, uses its two-colored bears as symbols of its diplomatic friendships.