The promise dates back to 2021, when the President of the Republic affirmed the need for a law ‘that will provide a long-term framework […] to truly establish a precise doctrine and rules for restitutability.’
Today, the conditions for its adoption finally appear to be met.
The drafty-law offers a targeted exemption from the principle of inalienability, which prevents the sale or transfer of works from public collections for certain cultural property.
The objective is to facilitate the restitution process so that it can be carried out by decree of the Council of State, without the need for legislative intervention.
In recent years, restitution policies have radically changed almost everywhere in the world and the example of the Netherlands is particularly interesting.
Since 2020, the country has implemented a new policy and established a scientific committee to examine restitution requests from foreign states.
It now accepts the return of objects that have entered the Dutch public domain as a result of an imbalance of power. Although the committee was officially established to handle requests relating to colonial objects, its scope extends to all types of objects. In cases of doubt as to how a cultural object became part of a Dutch collection, the committee recommends its restitution. The benefit of the doubt therefore goes to the requesting state.
Let’s return to the French bill presented by the government. It was tabled in the Senate on July 30, 2025, where three senators, Max Brisson (LR), Catherine Morin-Desailly (Centrist Union), and Pierre Ouzoulias (CRCE-K), particularly committed to the issue, have already initiated a number of legislative proposals relating to restitution.
The bill was initially scheduled to be debated in September 2025, but the political situation has pushed this deadline back to a date that remains undetermined.
The political consensus that appears to be emerging in favor of this bill is fundamental. It will allow France to position itself at the forefront of the debate on the restitution of illicitly acquired cultural property.
