France will return to Benin at the end of October 26 works of art looted from the Abomey Palace at the end of the 19th century.e century, as it committed to in 2018, announced Friday, October 8, French President Emmanuel Macron.
“At the end of October, we will return 26 treasures to Benin” in a ceremony organized in the presence of Beninese President Patrice Talon, said Mr. Macron at the Africa-France summit held in Montpellier, during a round table on the restitution of works of art looted from Africa. “We are also going to do it with the Ivory Coast”, he added.
This announcement is part of a commitment made in November 2018 to return 26 works of art claimed by Benin, from the “Béhanzin Treasury” looted at the Abomey Palace in 1892 during the colonial wars.
This decision followed a report from academics Bénédicte Savoy, from the Collège de France, and Felwine Sarr, from the University of Saint-Louis in Senegal.
“The pride of France”
The two specialists had laid the groundwork for a return to sub-Saharan Africa of first works of art transferred during colonization, listing tens of thousands of works potentially concerned.
In December 2020, the French Parliament approved the restitution with transfer of ownership of these 26 pieces to Benin, now kept at the Quai Branly-Jacques-Chirac museum in Paris.
“They will be the pride of Benin. And because returning works to Africa means making their culture accessible to African youth, these restitutions will also be France’s pride ”Mr. Macron added in a tweet.
One of the highlights of the “New relationship” that the French head of state intends to establish with the continent.
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