France has returned three ancient artefacts to Ethiopia, marking a rare transfer of prehistoric material at a time when questions over the future of African heritage in European holdings continue to stir debate. The items, which include two stone axes and a stone cutter dating back between one and two million years, were handed over during a ceremony at the National Museum of Ethiopia last week.
French foreign minister Jean Noël Barrot presented the objects to Ethiopia’s tourism minister Selamawit Kassa, describing the gesture as part of a wider partnership focused on cultural preservation. The three artefacts were among thousands of items kept at the French embassy in Addis Ababa. It remains unclear whether more objects from the collection will be transferred to Ethiopian authorities.
Laurent Serrano, cultural advisor at the French embassy, said the move should be understood as a handover rather than restitution, emphasising that the pieces had never formed part of France’s public collections. He explained that they were discovered during archaeological work carried out over several decades at a site near the capital.
During the ceremony, Barrot announced a seven million euro initiative titled Sustainable Heritage in Ethiopia. The programme will support conservation and restoration projects across the country, including work on the celebrated rock hewn churches of Lalibela. The twelfth and thirteenth century complex, listed by UNESCO, has suffered structural damage and was occupied by rebel forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region in 2021.
While officials in Addis Ababa welcomed the gesture, the broader issue of African heritage held in France remains unresolved. In 2017, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to return African cultural property and encouraged European institutions to rethink long standing approaches to collection ownership. Eight years later, progress has fallen far short of expectations, and campaigners say the absence of a clear timetable has deepened frustration.
A bill addressing the return of colonial era artefacts is yet to be scheduled for debate in the French National Assembly. Museums, researchers and African governments have all called for clarity, arguing that piecemeal decisions risk diluting the spirit of Macron’s original commitment.
For now, the handover in Addis Ababa stands as a modest but visible step. It signals cooperation between the two countries while highlighting a larger and more complex question that remains unanswered: how far France is prepared to go in returning Africa’s displaced heritage.
