By Anadolu Agency
France restitutes 26 cultural artifacts
Benin’s president said Tuesday that he regretted that many artifacts of Beninese cultural heritage continued to be kept in museums in France even though Paris has returned some of the looted antiquities.
Speaking at the Elysee Palace after signing an agreement on the handover of 26 cultural artifacts, Patrice Talon reminded President Emmanuel Macron that while the restitution was “appreciable,” he was not fully satisfied.
It was regrettable that many other symbolic treasures continue to be “detained in France to the chagrin of their beneficiaries,” he noted.
The royal treasures, which were ransacked nearly 129 years ago by General Alfred Dodds from the Royal Palaces of Abomey, include royal statues, the throne and seat of King Ghezo and doors from the palace of King Glele.
Talon said they were much more than just “cultural property” as France described it.
“It is our soul that is coming back. These 26 works are more than objects. They are part of our deep genetic heritage.”
“Through my voice, it is the entire Beninese people who express their gratitude and congratulations to you for your clairvoyance and your courage, which have made it possible to overcome the taboo of restitution,” he told Macron.
In 2016, the French government under Francois Hollande rejected a request by Benin’s foreign minister to return the cultural heritage on the principle of “inalienability.”
The move towards restitution began during Macron’s first trip to Africa as president in 2017, where he announced to restore the ownership of the looted cultural heritage. Last year, parliament unanimously adopted a resolution of restitution of the artifacts to African countries.
While Macron hailed the agreement as “not just symbolic, but moving” and “historical,” Talon said it was only the first stage in the ambitious process of equity and restitution of a memorial heritage.
A 2018 report commissioned by the Macron administration by academics Felwine Sarr and Benedicte Savoy estimates that over 90,000 African antique objects and valuables that were ransacked during colonial rule are currently housed in French museums.
Macron has committed to frame a new law for the restitution of looted artefacts from colonized countries.
Prior to their departure, the 26 Beninese cultural artifacts were exhibited at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They will now be displayed in a newly developed museum in the city of Cotonou.