But it was Wednesday’s emotionally charged trial that gave real resonance to Diyabanza’s struggle, as a symbolic defendant was called to the stand: France, and its colonial track record. France’s vast trove of African heritage — it is estimated that some 90,000 sub-Saharan African cultural objects are held in French museums — was largely acquired under colonial times, and many of these artworks were looted or acquired under dubious circumstances. Unlike in Germany, where this debate has been welcomed by both the government and museums, France has struggled to offer a consistent response, just as the country is facing a difficult reckoning with its past. The restitution debate came to a head in France when President Emmanuel Macron promised in 2017 to give back much of Africa’s heritage held by French museums. “In France, there’s a post-colonial view on the African continent,” Zinsou added, saying that some prominent French cultural figures still doubted that African countries could preserve artworks.

Source: bd News24 October 01, 2020 12:11 UTC