France

Jordi Tomàs, part of (Tr)african(t)s research team visited France to observe the practices of various museums. The museum of Quai Branly in Paris has been involved in various restitution projects, the most significant of which was the return of twenty-six pieces to the Republic of Benin and one to Senegal (2021). As for provenance research, between 2021 and 2023, the museum hired a professional to research the origin of one hundred objects in the institution. Another researcher is working specifically on the pieces from the Dakar-Djibouti mission (1931–1933) in close collaboration with researchers from all the African countries involved. It should be noted that the museum has awarded several grants for the documentation of the collections financed by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. It also subsidizes stays for researchers and directors of African museums to research the collections originating from their countries and currently held at the Branly. The Army Museum in Paris has also carried out restitutions, such as that of a sabre falsely attributed to El-Hadj ’Umar. In Aquitaine, half a dozen museums and research centres in the region (Bordeaux, Angoulême, Rochefort, La Rochelle, Périgueux) have coordinated and promoted the ANADA project (Afriques-Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Decolonization of the Arts, circulation of cultural goods and restitution of African heritage in a reshaping world). French museums have also been involved in the restitution of human remains. In 2001, the restitution of the remains of Saartjie Baartman to the Republic of South Africa was approved by the Senate. In 2011, a total of 21 Maori heads were returned to New Zealand from various national and territorial museums: the Natural History Museum in Rouen, the Quai Branly, the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, the National Marine Museum in Rochefort, and museums in Dunkirk, Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Sens, the Confluences Museum in Lyon, as well as a Maori head held at the University of Montpellier. +info: Museum of Aquitaine in Bordeaux Naval Museum in Paris Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac