France and the repatriation of cultural objects

In the past couple years, due to the decision of President Emmanuel Macron to return African cultural property to African States, the repatriation of cultural objects to their countries of origin has become a hot topic in France. The geographical repartition of cultural heritage is a complex issue, entangled with history, culture, politics and law. This study focuses on the issues of human rights, multiculturalism, cultural identity or recognition related to the repatriation of cultural heritage as well as on the international legal regimes protecting cultural property. A wide literature has addressed the subject of repatriation and of its various aspects. Nevertheless, despite the studies on that subject and the organization of symposia on the value of repatriation, there is still research on what people (citizens of a State, members of nation or cultural group…) believe and expect from repatriation. By using self-administered questionnaires, this quantitative study attempts to investigate French citizens’ opinion on what considerations should be taken into account when returning cultural objects to their countries of origin.