A bill to make it easier for France to return cultural objects taken during the colonial period was presented at a ministerial council in Paris this week by Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Despite a pledge by President Emmanuel Macron in Burkina Faso in 2017, and follow-up reports, only a small number of items have been returned so far.
The new bill would allow artefacts to be given back by government decree, without needing a full vote in Parliament each time. It would apply to objects taken from their countries of origin under conditions described as "illicit".
A similar bill planned for 2024 was blocked by France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat, and its review was postponed.
On 30 July, the French government said its goal is to speed up restitution.
The bill would set out clear rules for what counts as looted, and would cover items acquired between 1815 and 1972. It cites theft, looting or forced transfer as reasons for return.
The word "colonisation" is not used, but the references point directly to France’s colonial past.
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Scientific commission
Dati said the bill would apply mostly to African countries, but could be used for objects taken from anywhere.
France will be among the first countries to pass such a law, said Catherine Morin-Desailly, a senator and member of the French Senate Culture Committee.
"Apart from Belgium so far, such a framework law has not yet seen the light of day," Morin-Desailly told RFI.
Asked whether the process would really be faster, she said: "Yes and no".
"I’m going to be nuanced because for each object it is also necessary to examine the request and to have a scientific, historical and legal study that allows us to affirm that it is indeed the right object," she explained.
What’s new in the bill is that objects can only be returned if their acquisition is proven to be illegal. If that hasn’t yet been shown, a scientific commission can be set up to help.
It would bring together French and international experts to research the object’s history and trace its true origin.
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"There will be a lot of work [for the] special commission to allow these restitutions. But what is important is that it will avoid specific laws that clutter the parliamentary agenda and make it take time," Morin-Desailly said.
She said public attitudes have changed, and that a shift is now possible.
"Not all objects from foreign countries were necessarily acquired illicitly," she added. "This is where we will have to look closely."
The aim of each return should be either "reparation" or "reappropriation". These terms were not included in the last bill, which was more cautious and referred only to "international relations" or "cultural cooperation".
Thousands of requests
France has returned only 27 works to African nations in the past six years. This includes 26 royal treasures from Dahomey handed back to Benin in 2021, and one item returned this year from Finland, though it belonged to a French collection.
At least 10 countries have filed official requests for thousands of other items, including Algeria, Madagascar and Côte d'Ivoire, based on 2023 data.
The new law would allow the principle of "inalienability" to be waived by decree in these cases. That rule normally bars French public museums from giving away state-owned items.
Many of the objects are still held in French collections and have never been properly listed or documented.
Lack of transparency
Experts and lawmakers have criticised the lack of transparency around how these items ended up in France.
"France has not yet finished its process of coming to terms with its colonial past," Pierre Ouzoulias, a Communist senator from Hauts-de-Seine and a member of the Senate Culture Committee, said on Wednesday in an interview with France Culture.
He wants to see a permanent, independent commission created.
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"It is absolutely essential that these restitutions are carried out with complete transparency," he said, "and that opinions are made public, to assure Parliament and the nation – who own these items – that everything has been done according to the rules and in accordance with a codified code of ethics that will be upheld regardless of future governments."
Saskia Cousin, a sociologist and anthropologist at the University of Nanterre, also supports the plan. She has long studied the issue of looted African heritage.
Cousin said thousands of artefacts have been returned to African nations from other parts of the world, but that France is "lagging behind".
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"This is an issue that goes beyond cultural diplomacy," she told France Culture. "We must return to the primary stakeholders – especially the youth, their heritage and matri-heritage – so they can reclaim not only this history but also a sense of pride."
The bill is due to be debated by the French Parliament during an extraordinary session in September, after the summer break.
