法国法院批准拍卖圆明园铜兽首

A Paris court rejected a bid to block the sale of two bronze sculptures looted from China that are to be auctioned with the art collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, a court official said on Monday, the Reuters reported.

APACE, an association representing Chinese cultural and heritage interests, filed an appeal to have the sale blocked but the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris rejected it, an official at the Paris court told Reuters.

The court also ordered APACE to pay auctioneer's Christie's and Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's former business manager and companion, 1,000 euros ($1,274) in costs each, the report said.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) relics once adorned the imperial summer resort Yuanmingyuan. They were looted when the palace was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.

The items currently belong to the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and were put up for auction by the late fashion magnate's partner, Pierre Berge.

Chinese lawyers on Thursday night filed a motion to the French court seeking an injunction to stop auction house Christie's putting the two stolen bronze relics under the hammer.

Bernard Gomez, president of the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), has agreed to be the applicant for property preservation of the two bronze rabbit and rat head sculptures.

A lawyer for the APACE group told the court on Monday its aim was to "alert public opinion on the fate of numerous Chinese works stolen in the past and sold through trafficking."