Vincent Noce, France’s new restitution law passes final vote, The Art Newspaper, 14 April 2026
Procedures for returning objects will be “strictly supervised” and the law applies only to items illegally taken between June 1815 and April 1972.
The French parliament has adopted on 13 April a framework legislation for the deaccession of cultural items plundered from former colonies. Nine years after President Emmanuel Macron pledged repatriation of African heritage, the new law finally opens the way for the return of items illegitimately taken by force. The bill was initiated in 2023, but it has been delayed by political instability and changes of government as well as the sensitivity of the subject.