Paris (AFP)
Parliament gave the green light on Thursday for the return of statuettes looted during colonial times in Benin and a saber of high historical value in Senegal.
These restitutions were approved by a final vote of the National Assembly (48 votes for, no against and two abstentions), which ratifies them on behalf of the Parliament, the Senate having refused its agreement.
The transfer to Benin concerns 26 pieces from the "Trésor de Béhanzin" from the looting of the Abomey palace in 1892. They are today at the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum in Paris.
Senegal must recover full ownership of a saber and its scabbard attributed to El Hadj Omar Tall, a great West African military and religious figure of the 19th century.
Held by the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, this saber is exhibited in Dakar as part of a long-term loan.
These restitutions respond to a desire to rebuild cultural relations with Africa expressed by President Emmanuel Macron in November 2017 in Ouagadougou.
They occasionally derogate from the inalienable nature of the collections of French national museums.
© 2020 AFP