Benin: The 26 royal treasures returned in 2021 are still waiting for their museum in Abomey

Beninese President Romuald Wadagni asked Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, October 5, 2026, during an official visit to France, for the restitution of 35 cultural artifacts and historical documents illegally removed from the former colony. Among them are the ceremonial throne of King Toffa of Porto-Novo, a sculpted effigy of the god Gou, the Guèdègbé divination tray, and the doors of the Kétou palace, reports Agence Ecofin on October 6, 2026.

The request is politically facilitated: the French law of May 9, 2026, on the restitution of illicitly appropriated cultural property now avoids the need to legislate piece by piece. It extends the first return, that of the 26 royal treasures looted in 1892 and handed over to Benin on November 10, 2021, under the presidency of Patrice Talon.

The construction site that is not moving fast enough

But nearly five years after this historic return, these 26 works still do not have a home. They are waiting for the Museum of the Kings and Amazons of Danxomè (MuRAD) in Abomey, which is still under construction alongside the rehabilitation of the royal palace site. The construction delays had already sparked criticism in 2024, notes Agence Ecofin. According to APA News, in July 2025, the building of approximately 2,000 square meters designed by architect Françoise N'Thépé was scheduled to open before the end of 2025.

The MuRAD is only one part of a program that the government presents as six major accelerated museum projects: modernization of the royal palace of Nikki, rehabilitation of the Portuguese Fort of Ouidah and creation of the International Museum of Memory and Slavery, construction in Porto-Novo of an international Vodun museum and renovation of the Alexandre Sènou Adandé and Honmè museums, and finally a large contemporary art museum in Cotonou. Still according to APA News, the Vodun museum, located on 16,000 square meters and designed by the Ivorian agency Koffi & Diabaté, saw its structural work completed in May 2025.

What the country has at stake within these walls

The stakes are not just heritage-related. During their two-month exhibition at the presidential palace in Cotonou, the 26 works attracted more than 200,000 visitors, according to APA News, which recalls that a $1.4 billion program launched in June 2025 aims to increase the share of tourism in GDP from 6% to 13.4% by 2030.

The battle for restitution is won in Paris, but it stands firm in Abomey, Ouidah, and Porto-Novo. Claiming 35 additional works therefore also commits the Beninese authorities to deliver the halls capable of showing them to the Beninese people themselves. France's response to the new request is not yet known.