Photos: Semafor Africa\YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
France has taken the first step toward repatriating human remains taken from Madagascar while under French colonial rule from 1896 till independence in 1960.
After a scientific review, these remains would include the skull of King Toera who was beheaded by troops soon after France took control of the Indian Ocean island. It will also include the remains of two chiefs from Madagascar’s Sakalava ethnic group (pictured), reportedly currently kept at the natural history museum in Paris.
When French president Emmanuel Macron in 2021 declared that his country would correct some of the wrongs of its colonial past by the restitution of thousands of African artifacts, it triggered a Europe-wide movement to examine national collections. According to AFP, France has voted on several laws in recent years with the aim of returning artifacts held in its museums. But few items have been returned so far of the thousands reported to be in major French museums.
