More than sixty years after most of its former colonies became independent, France is ready to return stolen art. On Thursday, the French parliament finally approved a law that makes it easier to return art objects stolen during colonization to the countries from which they were stolen. In French museums, there are an estimated 150,000 pieces from the former colonies in Africa: from traditional Senufo masks from Ivory Coast to Fang relic statues from Gabon.
Currently, in France, a separate law must be implemented for each return; with the new law, the Minister of Culture only has to issue a decree. That parliament has unanimously approved this law shows a “fascinating change in mentality”, says art historian Bénédicte Savoy, who in 2018 issued a report on predatory art that formed the basis for the law with Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr. “In France, a large majority was always against the idea of returning stolen art objects,” Savoy said via a video link from Berlin, where she works for the Technical University. “In less than ten years, that has completely changed.”
