The restitution to the Republic of Benin was based on the 2018 Sar-Savoy report.
If the criteria for restitution, formulated in this report, are followed, many categories of objects are excluded from further research: acquired through military aggression, by military personnel or active administrators, through scientific expeditions, or loaned out and never given back.
In 2023, Macron withdrew a proposed law concerning the restitution of African artefacts.
And recently, he agreed with Germany to set up a fund to finance provenance research.
Provenance research has the potential to enable illegal holders of looted items to delay restitution, and argue they need time for research.
