After the historic return of 26 royal treasures from Abomey in 2021, Benin is pressing ahead in its long campaign to reclaim its heritage. President Romuald Wadagni has formally asked his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to hand back 35 additional cultural items and historical documents currently held in France. It is a fresh chapter that blends memory, cultural sovereignty and tourism ambitions — but it also raises a strategic question: can these claims deliver tangible benefits, or will they remain symbolic gestures?
A renewed push to recover the national heritage
The issue of returning African cultural property kept in Europe has become a permanent fixture in relations between Benin and France. With this request for 35 more objects and historical documents, Cotonou is continuing a process begun several years ago, aiming to recover parts of a heritage whose pieces were taken during the colonial era.
The move by President Wadagni is not merely a symbolic demand. It forms part of a broader policy designed to let Benin repossess key chapters of its history and make them accessible to its people.
Among the items sought are objects linked to the former kingdoms of Benin, their rulers and their traditions. Their return would help complete national collections and give greater depth to the historical narrative presented in Beninese museums.
For the authorities in Cotonou, restitution is therefore a matter of memory as well as sovereignty. For decades, a significant portion of Benin’s material history was kept outside the African continent. The country now wants to reverse that trend.
Building on the legacy of Patrice Talon
Romuald Wadagni is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Patrice Talon, who made the return of cultural property a priority of Benin’s diplomacy.
The most striking moment of that policy remains the November 2021 return of 26 works from the royal treasury of Abomey, after their official restitution by France.
These objects — including thrones, statues, recades and other emblematic pieces of the Kingdom of Dahomey — had been seized by French troops during the conquest of the kingdom in 1892.
Their homecoming stirred immense emotion across Benin. For many Beninese, it was not simply the return of ancient objects but the recovery of a piece of their history.
That first restitution also had international resonance. It helped establish Benin as one of the African countries most committed to the debate on returning African heritage held in Western collections.
With the new request for 35 items, Cotonou intends to sustain that momentum and widen the movement.
Museums ready to welcome the recovered treasures
But recovering the works is only a first step. There must also be infrastructure capable of receiving, conserving and showcasing them.
That is precisely one of the main pillars of Benin’s cultural policy. The government has invested heavily in building and modernising museum facilities.
In Abomey, the Museum of the Epic of the Amazons and the Kings of Danxomè is intended to tell the story of the Kingdom of Dahomey and present part of its heritage to the public.
In Porto-Novo, the International Museum of Vodun project aims to shed light on a religious and cultural tradition often reduced abroad to stereotypes. In Ouidah, projects dedicated to the memory of slavery should also strengthen the place of this historic city in the country’s cultural and tourism landscape.
The strategy is clear: returned objects should not simply be placed behind glass. They must be accompanied by scientific, educational and historical work that allows visitors to understand their origin, meaning and the circumstances in which they left Benin.
Turning heritage into a tourism driver
This heritage policy also responds to an economic ambition.
Benin wants culture and tourism to contribute more to the country’s growth. The restitution of works therefore fits into a wider strategy aimed at transforming historic sites, traditions and museums into genuine tourist attractions.
Abomey and its royal palaces, Ouidah and its history linked to the slave trade, Porto-Novo and its architectural heritage, Vodun traditions and the cultures of the former kingdoms are all assets.
The challenge now is to create a real tourist circuit around these different sites.
A visitor could discover the royal palaces of Abomey, continue to the museums of Porto-Novo, learn about the history of Ouidah and take part in cultural events such as the Vodun Days. Around these activities can grow hospitality, catering, crafts, transport, guide services and a whole local economy.
Heritage then becomes much more than a matter of conservation: it can become an economic sector creating jobs and income.
The challenge of conservation and transmission
Restitution, however, raises another challenge: conservation.
Ancient objects require specific conditions of temperature, humidity, security and restoration. Their return must therefore be accompanied by appropriate skills and resources.
Benin will also need to continue training curators, historians, restorers and heritage specialists to ensure these items are passed on to future generations.
For the goal must not be only to recover objects. It must also enable younger generations to make them their own.
In schools, universities and museums, these works can become teaching and research materials. They can help deepen understanding of pre-colonial kingdoms, African societies, resistance to colonial conquest and the political and cultural transformations that have shaped Benin’s history.
A cultural battle that crosses borders
The request for 35 new cultural items sent to France ultimately illustrates how the balance of power over African heritage is changing.
For a long time, major European museums held a considerable share of objects from the African continent. Today, several African states want to regain control of their heritage and build institutions on their territory capable of conserving and presenting it.
Benin intends to play a leading role in this movement.
After the 26 royal treasures returned in 2021 under Patrice Talon, the 35 new items claimed by Romuald Wadagni mark another stage. The process could still be lengthy, as each object requires identification, documentation and negotiation.
But the message from Cotonou is now clear: Benin’s heritage must gradually find its place back in Benin.
Recovering the past to build the future
The battle for restitution therefore goes beyond the mere question of ancient objects. It touches on identity, memory and a country’s ability to tell its own story.
For Benin, the challenge now is to turn each restitution into an opportunity. A work that returns must be studied, conserved, exhibited and explained. A museum that opens its doors must attract both Beninese and foreign visitors. A historic site must benefit the communities living nearby.
Only then will restitution take on its full meaning.
The 35 new items claimed from France could thus become another piece of a vast project: recover heritage, build museums, develop tourism and turn memory into a resource for the future.
Having secured the return of the Abomey treasures, Benin now wants to go further. The heritage battle is changing scale. And behind the negotiations between Cotonou and Paris lies a broader ambition: to make Benin’s heritage not only a legacy to preserve but also a cultural, educational and economic force serving future generations.
