France solemnly returns 26 looted treasures from Benin

So as not to miss any African news, subscribe to the newsletter of World Africa from this link. Every Saturday at 6 a.m., find a week of current events and debates treated by the editorial staff of World Africa.

France solemnly restores to the Benign, Tuesday, November 9, 26 works from the royal treasures of Abomey looted in the XIX^e century by colonial troops, a “Historic moment of national pride” for the Beninese authorities. French President Emmanuel Macron will receive his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon in the morning to finalize the restitution of these 26 treasures preserved so far at the Parisian museum of Quai-Branly, and which will reach Benin on Wednesday.

The ministers of culture of the two countries, Roselyne Bachelot and Jean-Michel Abimbola, will sign the deed of transfer of ownership from France to Benin, allowing the works to return definitively to their country after nearly 130 years of absence.

Read also African arts: restoring works, restoring the facts

This solemn ceremony marks the last stage of an unprecedented process begun with the promise made in 2017 by Mr. Macron to make restitutions of the African heritage preserved in France. “It is a historic moment of national pride”Mr. Abimbola said a few days ago on Beninese television. “Certainly, these are only 26 works out of the thousands, but we are starting something that can no longer stop”, he added. “We have primed the pump and do not despair of recovering other works” in Germany, Great Britain and the United States in particular.

” I can die in peace “

This initiative is “An important marker for the construction of a new relationship and a new perspective between France and the African continent”, welcomed his side the Elysee.

Among the restored works are totem statues from the ancient kingdom of Abomey as well as the throne of King Béhanzin, looted during the sacking of the Abomey Palace by French colonial troops in 1892.

These treasures will leave aboard a plane with Patrice Talon and their arrival will be celebrated on Wednesday in Cotonou, where they are awaited with emotion. “I shudder at the idea of ​​taking a closer look at these royal treasures, especially the thrones of our ancestors. It’s unimaginable, thus confided to AFP in Cotonou Dah Adohouannon, a dignitary and head of community. From the height of my 72 years, I can die in peace, once I see them ”, he added.

Read also Béhanzin’s treasure and Oumar Tall’s saber belong to Africans again

The works will be submitted for two months “Acclimatization” to the new climate and humidity conditions, before being exposed for three months to the Beninese presidency.

“Obviously there will be a crowd because everyone will want to see them very quickly”, predicts a student, Henriette Béhanzin, who hopes that the visits will not be reserved for the privileged, “Because they are treasures to all of us”.

The treasures will then go to the old Portuguese fort of Ouidah and the governor’s house, historic sites of slavery and European colonization, located on the coast, pending the construction of a new museum in Abomey.

90% of African heritage outside Africa

During his speech in Ouagadougou in November 2017, Mr. Macron pledged to make temporary or permanent restitution of African heritage in France possible within five years. On the basis of a report submitted by the Senegalese and French academics Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy, he decided to return these 26 works requested by the authorities of Benin for several years.

An emergency law passed in December 2020 made these refunds possible in Benin by derogating from the principle of“Inalienability” works in public collections, because they had been the subject of serious looting.

Read also In Côte d’Ivoire, the restitution by France of the Ebrié drum, “a historic gesture” hailed by traditional chiefs

Before being returned, the 26 works were shown together one last time at the Parisian museum of Quai-Branly, seen by “15,000 people in seven days”.

According to experts, 85% to 90% of African heritage is outside the continent. Since 2019, in addition to Benin, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Chad, Mali and Madagascar have submitted requests for restitution, for some countries already made several times.

Paris must soon return to Côte d’Ivoire the Djidji Ayokwe, the famous Ebrié drum speaker, long claimed by Abidjan.

The restitution of works of art looted from Africa is one of the highlights of the “New relationship” that the French head of state intends to establish with the continent.

The World with AFP