Relevant analysts pointed out that at this time, Christie's of France clearly gave an estimate for the rat and rabbit bronze statues from Yuanmingyuan, which is not unrelated to the approaching auction date of these two animal statues and the French court rejecting the litigation request to stop the auction.
In July 2008, Christie's of France issued a public announcement declaring that in February 2009, they would host a special auction event called "The Treasures of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé," which would include the Chinese cultural relics from Yuanmingyuan - the rat and rabbit bronze statues - that were plundered by the Anglo-French Allied Forces during the war period and lost overseas for many years. After this news reached China, it caused a strong reaction domestically.