France agrees to return African treasures to Benin soon

France’s President Emmanuel Macron agreed Friday to return 26 artworks to Benin “without delay,” his office said. The decision came as Macron received the findings of a study he had commissioned on returning African treasures held by French museums, a radical policy shift that could put pressure on other former colonial powers.

He proposed gathering African and European partners in Paris next year to define a framework for an “exchange policy” for African artworks. Macron agreed to return 26 royal statues from the Palaces of Abomey -- formerly the capital of the kingdom of Dahomey -- that were taken by the French army in 1892 and are now housed at Paris’ Quai Branly museum. Benin had requested their restitution, and earlier this week welcomed that France had followed the process through to the end. But Macron’s office said this should not be an isolated or symbolic case.

The president “hopes that all possible circulation of these works is considered: returns but also exhibitions, loans, further cooperation”, the Elysee palace said. The report he received on Friday proposed legislation be developed to return thousands of African artworks taken during the country’s colonial period, now in French museums, to nations that request them. There are conditions, however, including a request from the relevant country, precise information about the works’ origins, and the existence of proper facilities such as museums to house the works back in their home country.