France Proposes Framework Law for Restitution of Cultural Property to African Countries

This report, entitled Shared heritage: universality, restitution and circulation of works of art, proposes a doctrine and method for reviewing and processing restitution requests.

It is part of the dynamic launched by the President of the Republic during his speech in Ouagadougou in 2017 calling for the possibility of restoring African cultural property and strengthening cultural partnerships between France and Africa. Since 2017, France has made its heritage and museum cooperation with the countries of the African continent one of its priorities, in close coordination between the embassies and the services and operators of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

This report also follows the publication in 2018 of the Restoring African heritage » by Bénédicte Savoy and Felwine Sarr and at the vote by the Parliament of the 2020 law authorizing the restitution of cultural property in Senegal and Benin.

The main recommendations of Mr. Martinez’s report are:

• the inclusion in a law of nine criteria of restitubility;

• the establishment of bilateral commissions ad hoc composed of experts and researchers from France and the countries of origin, responsible for issuing an opinion on the advisability of a restitution;

• an original device entitled «shared heritage» concerning certain symbolic works that do not meet all the criteria of restitubility;

• a Europeanisation of the policy of restitution, in particular by working with Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in particular on the research of origin and the reception of African researchers.

 This report will serve as a basis for consultation with parliamentarians with a view to preparing a framework bill to be submitted to Parliament in the coming months.

Link to report