France to debate fate of colonial-era looted artefacts

French lawmakers are set to debate a bill aimed at simplifying the process of returning artworks looted during the colonial era to their countries of origin.

France still holds tens of thousands of artworks and other valuable artefacts taken from countries of its former colonial empire, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

The draft law on restitution was unanimously approved by the upper house of parliament in January and must now be passed by the lower house — the National Assembly — to come into force.

President Emmanuel Macron has made a political commitment to return cultural property.

Speaking in 2017, he said France would no longer interfere in the affairs of its former colonies and pledged to facilitate the return of African cultural heritage within five years.

The bill, aimed at streamlining this process, covers property acquired between 1815 and 1972.

Former colonial powers in Europe have gradually begun returning some artworks obtained during imperial expansion.

However, France’s current legislation requires a separate parliamentary vote for each item in national collections, complicating the process.

In 2025, the French parliament approved the return to Côte d’Ivoire of a “talking drum” taken by colonial forces from the Ébrié people in 1916.

It was repatriated in March.

The bill has sparked political debate in France.

The far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) is calling for an expansion of its scope, while the far-right National Rally (RN) has proposed limiting restitution to countries maintaining “friendly” relations with Paris.

 By Bakhtiyar Abbasov