French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that the movement to return African artworks looted during the colonial era is now “unstoppable,” following the passage of a landmark restitution law by France’s parliament.
Speaking on Monday during a two-day economic summit in Nairobi, Macron said France had reached a turning point in efforts to restore cultural artefacts taken from African nations during colonial rule.
“I believe we have built something irreversible and unstoppable,” Macron said while addressing young Africans at the summit.
The French leader’s remarks came just days after lawmakers in France unanimously approved legislation that simplifies the process for returning looted cultural artefacts to African countries.
France currently holds tens of thousands of artworks and historical objects acquired during its colonial expansion across Africa, many of which have been the subject of growing restitution demands in recent years.
Macron, who first pledged in 2017 during a speech in Burkina Faso to facilitate the return of African heritage items within five years, insisted that the new law marks a major breakthrough in cultural restitution.
He also pushed back against critics opposed to the returns, dismissing attempts to reverse the policy.
“Even if someone came to power in France who wanted to roll back restitutions, I don’t think they would succeed,” Macron said, adding that the process was no longer about political debates but about building a new relationship with Africa.
Until now, France had been constrained by laws requiring parliament to approve the return of each individual artefact through separate legislation — a process that significantly slowed restitution efforts despite increasing requests from African nations.
The newly adopted law removes that hurdle, allowing the French government to authorise returns without having to pass case-by-case legislation.
Although several European countries have gradually begun returning cultural treasures obtained during imperial rule, France has so far returned only a limited number of artefacts to former colonies.
One notable example came in 2025, when France approved the return of a historic talking drum taken from the Ebrie people of Ivory Coast by colonial troops in 1916. The artefact was officially returned in March this year.
Describing the latest development as the beginning of a broader cultural dialogue, Macron said: “This is the beginning of an exchange.”
