A severe limitation in the proposed draft law is the exclusion of particular objects from the application of the new law, namely, ‘archaeological objects that result from the sharing of excavations or the exchange of objects for scientific study.
Also excluded are objects seized by military forces which, by their nature, their destiny or use, have contributed to military activities and so must be considered as military goods.’ (6)
Donations by third parties are also excluded from restitution unless the donors consent expressly to the donations being made subject to restitution. Thus, many donations of objects made to museums by third parties, even if they had been looted or stolen, are inalienable once they enter the state property category.
The new law that provides a general exception for cultural objects from the prohibition of inalienability excludes donations unless the donor agrees. The French legislator is ready to protect the rights of donors against the rights of Africans who have been robbed. Would Gou be considered as a donation made by French colonel, Eugene Fonssagrives, who brought the sculpture to the Musée de l’Ethnographie du Trocadéro in 1894, alleging it had been abandoned, after the defeat of the Dahomeyan army by French troops?
Another severe limitation is that only States can request restitution.
Thus, nations and peoples like the Asante, Kingdom of Benin(Nigeria) or the Fon, Yoruba, and Igbo could not apply directly to the French government for restitution of looted artefacts.
Could the State pass on restituted objects to ethnic groups or nations without being accused of a breach of promise, as happened in Nigeria when the late President Buhari reiterated by decree the rights of the Oba of Benin in the Benin artefacts looted from his palace in 1897?
The new proposals on restitution contain the usual paternalism and condescension.
Demanding States appear as if begging for aid from France for what they would otherwise not be entitled to.
An uninformed person might not realize that they are seeking the return of their artefacts that France had illegally seized with
violence and kept for over a hundred years.
The request for restitution will be examined and approved or disapproved as one would examine students’ work.
