French President Emmanuel Macron visited Benin some eight months after France returned 26 works of art seized by colonial soldiers in Benin in 1892. Thousands of other looted artworks remain in France, and traditional leaders and government authorities in Benin are hopeful that the return of the 26 is only the beginning of a process of restitution.
Statues, sceptres, and the doors of the royal palace of Dahomey are just some of the 26 looted artefacts returned to Benin by France's Quai Branly museum in November 2021, after three years of negotiation. French colonial forces took the artworks, which were royal property, during the looting of the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892. Thousands of other looted artworks remain in France.
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