In France, the restitution of African objects subject to conditions

2023-05-02 20:00:10

Metal works of art looted by French colonial soldiers during an exhibition of Beninese objects seized from the presidency in Cotonou (Benin), February 18, 2022. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP

Return, yes, but under conditions. This is, in essence, the doctrine of the report by Jean-Luc Martinez published on April 27 to frame the future framework law on the return of cultural property to their countries of origin, which will be submitted to Parliament in early 2024. former president of the Louvre, indicted in the case of objects of dubious provenance purchased by the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the stakes were highly diplomatic: to give pledges to African countries, without undermining the principle of inalienability, to heal the wounds of colonial past, without making an act of repentance. Also put an end to the “fait du prince” and the diplomatic logic that poisons public life, without offending Emmanuel Macron to whom Jean-Luc Martinez owes his post as ambassador.

The procedure « transparent, collaborative and scientifically sound” recommended by the report would limit the period for examining a request made by a State to a maximum of three years. Any restitution must be validated by a Conseil d’Etat decree or through an intergovernmental agreement.

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Five years after the report by the French academic Bénédicte Savoy and the Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr, which called for the definitive and unconditional return of goods looted or acquired at low cost during the colonial period, Jean-Luc Martinez puts forward nine criteria restitution like so many locks. “A way to bury the Sarr-Savoy report and to mark a takeover of the subject by museum curators”analyzes the communist senator Pierre Ouzoulias.

The first admissibility criteria are struck at the corner of common sense. France must thus ensure that another country does not claim the same goods, the current borders not corresponding to the geography of the ancient peoples. Example: the “treasury of Ségou”, seized in 1890 by a French expeditionary force, is today claimed by both Mali and Senegal.

Works of heritage interest

Requests must also target works of heritage interest, the equivalent of our “national treasures”. The avowed objective being to rule out any global and indistinct claim such as those made by Mali, Chad, Ethiopia and Madagascar, which are demanding the return to their countries of all the objects kept in France.

As a prerequisite, it is naturally necessary to ensure the illegality or illegitimacy of the acquisitions. Is it a forced sale, spoils of war, a violent conquest? An ad hoc bilateral commission will have to decide on the matter.

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