France urged to return looted African art treasures

The Local France ^ | 21 November 2018 | AFP

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Experts appointed by President Emmanuel Macron will advise him on Friday to allow the return of thousands of African artworks held in French museums, a radical shift in policy which could put pressure on other former colonial powers.

Calls have been growing in Africa for the restitution of their cultural treasures, but French law strictly forbids the government from ceding state property, even in well-documented cases of pillaging.

But in a speech in Burkina Faso in November last year, Macron said "Africa's heritage cannot just be in European private collections and museums."

He later asked French art historian Benedicte Savoy and Senegalese writer Felwine Sarr to study the matter, and they are to present Macron with their report on Friday.

According to a copy seen by AFP, they recommend amending French law to allow the restitution of cultural works if bilateral accords are struck between France and African states.

Of the estimated 90,000 African artworks in French museum collections, around 70,000 are at Paris' Quai Branly museum, created by ex-president Jacques Chirac, a keen admirer of African and Asian arts.

In order to proceed with any restitutions, "a request would have to be lodged by an African country, based on inventory lists which we will have sent them," according to the report.

The prospect has raised hackles among some curators and art dealers who say it would eventually empty museums and galleries in some Western countries.

Critics also say the move could prompt private French collectors to move their works out of the country for fear of seizure.

European conservationists have also raised practical concerns, worrying artefacts could be stolen or handled improperly if given to inexperienced museums in politically unstable countries.

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I'm not sure the movie was seen by more than a couple hundred people. ;^).