Admitting ‘colonial pillage’, Macron vows return of African art

A visitor looks at the royal statues of the Dahomey Kingdom in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that his country will return 26 African artworks - royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues - to Benin later this month, as part of France's long-promised plans to give back artwork taken from Africa during the colonial era.

Discussions have been underway for years on returning the artworks from the 19th century Dahomey Kingdom. Called the "Abomey Treasures," they currently are held in the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. The museum, near the Eiffel Tower, holds thousands of works from former French colonies.

Macron said the 26 pieces will be given back at the end of October, "because to restitute these works to Africa is to give African young people access to their culture." It remains unclear when exactly they will arrive in Benin.

Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh with French President Emmanuel Macron. Pics/AFP

"We need to be honest with ourselves. There was colonial pillage, it's absolutely true," Macron told a group of African cultural figures at an Africa-France gathering in the southern city of Montpellier. He noted other works already were returned to Senegal and Benin, and the restitution of art to Ivory Coast is planned.

Cameroon-born art curator Koyo Kouoh pressed Macron for more efforts to right past wrongs. "Our imagination was violated," she said. "Africa has been married to France in a forced marriage for at least 500 years," Kouoh said. "The work [on mending relations] that should have been done for decades wasn't done... It's not possible that we find ourselves here in 2021."

A sweeping 2018 report commissioned by Macron recommended that French museums give back works that were taken without consent, estimating that up to 90 per cent of African art is located outside the continent.

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