The French National Assembly unanimously passes a law on the restitution of cultural artefacts removed from former colonies between 1815 and 1972

The French National Assembly has unanimously passed a law on the restitution of cultural artefacts removed from former colonies between 1815 and 1972. The year 1815 is that of the Congress of Vienna, after which France returned what Napoleon had plundered across Europe. The year 1972 is the date of France's ratification of the convention on the illicit export of cultural property.

Parliament voted as one, with no votes against and no abstentions. The law will enter into force in May. France has become the first European country to adopt a universal legal norm for colonial restitution.

The principle of the inalienability of public collections goes back to the sixteenth century; after the Revolution it was framed in terms of the national patrimony and enshrined in a single code of laws on cultural heritage.

Until today, every instance of returning cultural property required a separate act of parliament, which took years. Now the consideration of requests will proceed far more simply. Moreover, museums are now obliged to research the provenance of the objects in their collections.

At present, the return of as many as 150,000 African objects alone, held in 237 French museums, may be at issue

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The French National Assembly unanimously passes a law on the restitution of cultural artefacts removed from former colonies between 1815 and 1972

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