World · Benin-France dispute · ArchiveBenin’s 35-Item Demand Tests France’s New Colonial Restitution LawAired August 2, 2026 at 8:46 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00A new French law designed to make0:01colonial restitution routine has just0:03encountered its first real test. Benin0:05has formally asked Paris to return 350:08additional colonial era artworks, and0:10for the first time the colonial archives0:12documenting its conquest. Under the0:13mechanism that came into force on May0:159th, France can approve the return by0:17decree, acting on advice from a joint0:20French-Beninese scientific committee,0:21rather than requiring a separate vote in0:23Parliament. The objects Benin now seeks0:25were taken in 1892 when French troops0:28looted Abomey. What France returned five0:30years ago, 26 royal artifacts, was the0:32first major restitution to a former0:34African colony, but that was under a0:36process that required a separate vote0:38for each set of objects. The new law0:40changes that, and Benin is now the first0:42to move under it. Having established its0:44own national committee in July to work0:46alongside the French.0:48Beninese experts estimate that at least0:5015,000 more objects remain in museums0:53and collections around the world. So0:54far, only 27 treasures have been0:56returned. The requested list, as0:58reported by France 24, ranges from1:00sculptures and a divination table to1:02royal swords, a rifle, and the Amazon1:04tunics, the battle dress of the women1:06warriors of Dahomey. For the first time,1:08the claim extends beyond the former1:09Dahomey kingdom to objects from Ketou,1:11Save, and Porto-Novo, reflecting the1:13larger territory of modern Benin. For1:15the first time, Benin is also asking for1:18the colonial archives themselves. The1:20documents that recorded how the looting1:22was organized and justified. It's a1:24request for both the physical artifacts1:26and the administrative history of their1:28seizure. The process now moves to these1:30two bodies. They will examine the 351:32requests and advise the French1:34government. What remains unclear is how1:36quickly a decree can be issued, whether1:38the archives will be treated under the1:40same framework as the objects, and1:42whether the committee's first decisions1:43will set a pace that matches the scale1:45of what was taken.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗