Benin requests 35 new cultural artifacts from France, including the god Gou held at the Louvre

Benin has formally requested that France return 35 new cultural artifacts, following a meeting between Beninese head of state Romuald Wadagni and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on October 5, 2026, according to Bénin Web TV and Triomphe Mag. The list includes major pieces, all taken during or after the conquest of the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892.

Three objects summarize the stakes. The statue of Gou, the deity of iron and war, is kept at the Louvre Museum. A 19th-century carved wooden divination tray and the throne of King Toffa of Porto-Novo are located at the Quai Branly Museum, according to the two Beninese media outlets. The statue of Gou had already been the subject of a Beninese request in 2016, under the presidency of Patrice Talon, which remained unanswered.

What has changed in French law

The request does not arrive in the legal vacuum that blocked previous cases. France adopted a framework law in May 2026 that governs the restitution of cultural property from foreign states when it has been subject to illicit appropriation, according to Triomphe Mag. This text provides for joint scientific committees and a procedure for removing items from French public collections, which were long protected by the principle of inalienability. On the Beninese side, a National Scientific Committee was installed in July 2026 and is chaired by Alain Godonou, according to the same media outlet.

A precedent exists: in November 2021, Benin recovered 26 royal treasures from Abomey, including thrones and anthropomorphic statues of Kings Ghézo and Béhanzin. This restitution was negotiated piece by piece and required an exceptional law voted on by the French Parliament. It is precisely this cumbersome process that the May 2026 framework law is intended to eliminate.

A question of narrative, not just objects

These pieces are not ethnographic curiosities. The throne of Toffa and the statue of Gou are political documents: they tell how a West African kingdom organized itself, represented itself, and produced art before being dismantled by a military column. Keeping them in Paris means maintaining control over how this history is told and to whom it is taught. Benin has built the counter-argument by investing in its own museum facilities, notably in Abomey and Ouidah.

The request of October 5, 2026, therefore constitutes the first real test of the French law adopted five months earlier. No decision schedule was made public following the meeting at the Élysée, according to Bénin Web TV.