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The article did day that Egypt wants the obelisk back. Maybe they are taking the line that the Ottomans stole the thing from Egypt and hadn't any right to give it away in the first place.

Since it is a famous Paris landmark, it would be weird if they gave it up. But who knows.

The article did day that Egypt wants the obelisk back. Maybe they are taking the line that the Ottomans stole the thing from Egypt and hadn't any right to give it away in the first place.

Personally, that makes no sense to me. The Ottomans were in control of Egypt since the 16th century, so therefore they were the ruling authority. If they decided to give away a treasure to France, and a future Egyptian government is unhappy with the decision of their precessors, I think its too bad. I'll qualify this by saying I'm not up on the legal ramifications of the Egyptian claim, but it seems similar to a (hypothical situation) of France demanding the return of the Statue of Liberty.