France’s lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at simplifying the return of artworks allegedly looted during the colonial era.
The draft legislation was unanimously passed by the National Assembly on Monday, March 13th after receiving approval from the upper house earlier this year. The bill is designed to streamline the process of returning cultural artefacts, which under current law requires a separate parliamentary vote for each individual item in the national collection.
France still holds tens of thousands of artworks and artefacts taken during its colonial history. The new measure specifically targets objects acquired between 1815 and 1972.
President Emmanuel Macron has made restitution a political priority. In 2017, during a visit to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, he pledged that France would support the return of African cultural heritage and committed to redefining relations with former colonies.
The far-left La France Insoumise party has called for the scope of the bill to be expanded, while the right-wing Rassemblement National has argued that returns should be limited to countries maintaining “cordial” relations with France.
France has faced increasing restitution requests from countries including Algeria, Mali, and the Republic of Benin. In 2025, parliament approved the return of a “talking drum” taken in 1916 from the Ebrie tribe in Ivory Coast, which was returned in March.
