Works looted during colonization: the restitution movement by France is "irreversible" et "unstoppable"according to Emmanuel Macron

The movement for restitution by France of works looted during colonization, particularly in Africa, is “inarrêtable” after having been enshrined in a law, assured Monday May 11 the French President Emmanuel Macron, promising that it will survive him even if his successor wants “go towards withdrawal”.

“I believe that we have built something irreversible and unstoppable”launched Emmanuel Macron on the first day of an Africa-France summit in Nairobi, Kenya. “Even if someone arrived in France who wanted to reverse the restitutions, I believe that he would not succeed (…) even all the people who make bad winds blow and who want to move towards withdrawal“, he added, one year from the end of his presidential mandate. To the latter, he launched: “Too late! (don’t) get carried away, too late!” He lambasted those who initially resisted the law, saying it was “of repentance.”

Emmanuel Macron promulgated on Saturday, just before this summit, a French framework law facilitating the restitution of works looted during colonization, demanded for years in Africa and unanimously adopted by the French Parliament. It was a promise he had made since the start of his presidency in 2017 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Nine years later, the restitutions can be counted on the fingers of one hand: first in 2020, 26 treasures from Abomey were returned to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar to Senegal, then at the start of 2026 a “talking drum” confiscated on the Coast of Ivory since 1916, the “Djidji Ayokwe”. The law should make it possible to facilitate new ones.

“This is the start of an exchange (…) Many other restitutions will continue on the basis of this framework law”, insisted Emmanuel Macron. And while he leaves doubt about what he will do once he leaves power in a year, he promised to continue this “combat” alongside Africans, “in other trappings” and with “other clothes”.