On October 27, French President Emmanuel Macron presided over a ceremony at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris, aiming to return 26 artifacts from the royal treasures of Apomet, which have been in France for 130 years.
France's France24 TV reported that on the same day, France announced that it would return 26 cultural relics from the royal treasures of Apome that have been preserved so far in the Museum of the Piers of Branly in Paris to Benin. President Emmanuel Macron personally attended and presided over the restitution ceremony. These emblematic artifacts will eventually leave Paris on November 9 and be transported "home" by cargo planes. Just hours before the ceremony began, Macron received Benin's President Patrice Talon at the Elysee Palace, where the two sides "formally confirmed the transfer of ownership of 26 artifacts," Macron noted.
The French side also organized a week-long exhibition of 26 works of art, and Macron said after viewing the exhibition that he was "deeply touched" by the ceremony, "the ceremony is called a farewell by some", but for "the long-awaited Benin" is a "reunion".
A new era of "cooperation"
Speaking at the Brownlee Docks Museum, Macron insisted in front of several representatives of Beninese politics and cultural circles attending the restitution ceremony: "This return of cultural relics goes beyond simple 'restitution' and is entirely a cooperative program that helps strengthen our relationship and creates new opportunities for exchanges, meetings and project collaboration between the two sides."
"Today, the Fabey relationship opened a new page." Benin's Foreign Minister Aurélien Agbenonci, who attended the ceremony, further noted. At the same time, he praised the two countries for providing "a model" for international cooperation models.
Cultural relics of Benin. (Image source: France24 video screenshot)
Among these artifacts are totem statues of the ancient Kingdom of Abomey and the throne of King Behanzin, which were looted by French colonial forces during the looting of the Apomy Palace in 1892. Emmanuel Kasarhérou, director of the Brownlee Docks Museum, said he was "very pleased" to hand over the artifacts to Benin's "experts", while stressing the importance that "the cultural heritage of every country should be fully reflected in its country". Similarly, Macron reiterated that one of the main purposes of the return is to "give African youth a new sense of their cultural heritage". "All young people need to understand their country's history in order to better build their future," Macron added.
The long road back
In a speech at the université de Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso in November 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to return, as far as possible, temporarily or finally, African artifacts retained by France within five years.
Based on reports submitted by Senegalese scholar Felwine Sarr and French scholar Bénédicte Savoy, Macron decided to return 26 artifacts sought by the Beninese authorities. "Four years ago, who could have imagined that the most prestigious, beautiful and famous Benin artifacts would be returned? No one. This is an event like no other", praised Savoy. At the same time, she also mentioned that in the past, France "long ignored The demands of Africa" and now becomes "the first country in the world to return cultural relics to an African country." The two scholars' reports set out a timeline for the return of artifacts and took stock of the tens of thousands of artifacts brought back from Africa by the colonists. Of course, while the report has received praise, it has also attracted criticism from some museum directors, who are more concerned about the "universal" "circulation of cultural relics".
Finally, in December 2020, France passed a law allowing exceptions to the principle of "non-transferability" of public collections, which were mostly the proceeds of plunder, making it possible to return them.
Six other countries have appealed for the return of cultural relics
Macron stressed on the same day that the return of cultural relics to Benin is part of his policy of restarting French relations with Africa under the new basic framework. He noted the need for "new targeted laws" aimed at "establishing clear rules" in order to complete the entire process of returning cultural objects. However, he did not elaborate further on this. Macron made it clear that "the aim is not to re-nationalize heritage" or "clean up all artifacts from abroad."
According to Sahru, two Benin museum staff had come to France more than a week in advance in order to organize the "homecoming" of the artifacts. Upon returning to Benin, the artifacts will first be "stored in a warehouse." They will then be permanently exhibited elsewhere: the ancient Portuguese fortress Ouidah and the Doge's Palace on the coast, historical sites of slavery, European colonialism, awaiting the construction of a new museum in Apome".
According to experts, 85 to 90 percent of African artifacts are scattered outside the continent. Since 2019, in addition to Benin, six other countries: Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Chad, Mali and Madagascar have submitted claims for the restitution of cultural relics.
According to statistics, at least 90,000 works of art from sub-Saharan Africa are collected by French public institutions, of which 70,000 are in the Collection of the Blanclie Pier-Chirac Museum, of which 46,000 came to France during the colonial period.
(Editor: Autumn Fox)