 It is believed to have been produced by crossing two existing breeds, the English Lop and the Giant Papillon ("géant papillon français" or "Butterfly Rabbit of France").The new breed became popular in neighbouring countries including the Netherlands, from which ten specimens were exported in 1933 to the UK for exhibition there.By the 1960s, the French Lop had become a mainstream breed in the UK, and in 1970-1971, the first French Lops were imported into the United States.