The Tamesis
French senators have unanimously approved a bill aimed at streamlining the return of looted art from the colonial era, a move that boosts President Emmanuel Macron’s long-running effort to reshape France’s relationship with its former colony. The legislation is currently before the National Assembly, where it must still approve it before becoming law.
Since taking office in 2017, Macron has made reparations a centerpiece of his cultural and diplomatic agenda, going further than any of his predecessors in publicly acknowledging the abuses committed during France’s colonial rule in Africa. During his visit to Ouagadougou that year, he reportedly pledged that France would promote the return of African cultural heritage within five years and view the return as part of a “new relationship” with the continent. AFP.
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France currently owns tens of thousands of art and antiquities seized from its former empire, but current laws make restitution cumbersome, requiring separate parliamentary votes for each item removed from national collections. The new bill aims to streamline the process by targeting items purchased between 1815 and 1972, removing a major legal hurdle that has slowed returns in recent years.
“The idea is not to empty French museums,” centrist senator Catherine Morin-Desailly said, according to Agence France-Presse. She emphasized acknowledging history rather than denying or repenting.
Demands for restitution have grown stronger, with countries such as Algeria, Mali and Benin seeking the return of cultural property. In 2025, France’s parliament approved the return of the “talking drum” seized by colonial forces from the Ebri tribe in Côte d’Ivoire in 1916, a decision widely seen as a test case for wider reforms. The Senate vote now moves Macron’s restitution agenda closer to becoming a lasting legal framework rather than a series of symbolic gestures.
