Opinion | Oo la la! Hollande's 'French fly' mocked in China

When François Hollande arrived in Beijing on Thursday after a torrid month at home, he intended discussing serious matters -  but some mischevious Chinese were more interested in poking fun at his pants.

In a doctored photo, widely circulated on Weibo, a serious-looking Hollande is seen leaving his jet in a dark suit escorted by diplomats and girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler - with his fly wide open.

“China welcomes the open-minded French President,” reads one headline conjured up by a blogger, playing into the “French people love sex” stereotype the Chinese have long held for their European counterparts.

Minutes later, thousands of Weibo users chimed in.

“Apparently it was a comfortable plane,” commented a blogger, implying the president had been fooling around while on board.

“People who aim at achieving great things don’t care about this trivial stuff, ” commented another.