Colonial restitutions: the Assembly finally examines the framework law awaited since 2017

The National Assembly examined on Monday a long-awaited bill on the restitution of objects acquired during the colonial period under illicit conditions. Unanimously adopted by the Senate at the end of January, this framework law is intended to allow France to move beyond the current system, deemed too slow, where each return of an artwork requires specific legislation. Nearly nine years after the commitment made by Emmanuel Macron In Ouagadougou, the subject thus returns to the heart of parliamentary debate, against a backdrop of strong expectations in Africa and a sensitive diplomatic issue.

A text designed to expedite restitution

Until now, the main obstacle was the principle of the inalienability of public collections, which required legislation to be passed on a case-by-case basis. This mechanism governed the return of the 26 treasures of Abomey to Benin and the sword of El Hadj Omar to Senegal, and more recently, the restitution of the sacred drum Djidji Ayokwe to Ivory Coast. According to AFP, such restitutions remain very rare, to the point of being “can be counted on the fingers of one hand” since the presidential promise of 2017.

The new text aims to expand the scope of the process. It stipulates that restitutions can now be decided by decree, following the opinion of two commissions: one scientific, the other including representatives from Parliament. In committee, Culture Minister Catherine Pégard explained, according to AFP, that the goal was "to organize future restitutions and increase efficiency," while maintaining "safeguards" and precise criteria for establishing the illicit nature of an acquisition.

A framework whose limitations are still being debated.

The bill, however, only covers a specific period: objects acquired by the collections between 1815 and 1972, that is, between the beginning of the second French colonial empire and the entry into force of the UNESCO Convention on Restitution. This limitation is already generating debate. La France Insoumise considers this scope too narrow, particularly because it would exclude certain requests, such as Mexico's request concerning the Codex Borbonicus. On the left, too, criticism focuses on the very wording of the text: environmentalists regret the absence of the word "colonization."

Conversely, the National Rally wants to restrict these restitutions to only those states maintaining “cordial” relations with France and denounces the text as an act of “repentance.” The government, on the other hand, defends it as a balanced law. According to AFP, Catherine Pégard asserted that the text is “neither denial nor repentance,” but rather a means of “appeasing memories.” One final unknown remains: the Constitutional Council's stance. Some legal experts believe that the restitution of assets acquired through donations or bequests may have to serve a “higher public interest.” Despite this, the government intends to push through this legislation, which it presents as a decisive step in French heritage policy.