French senators adopted a bill on Wednesday, January 28, to simplify the return of artworks looted during the colonial era to their countries of origin. France still has in its possession tens of thousands of artworks and other prized artifacts that it looted from its colonial empire. President Emmanuel Macron has gone further than his predecessors in admitting past French abuses in Africa. In 2025, France's parliament approved the return to the Côte d’Ivoire of a "talking drum" that colonial troops took from the Ebrie tribe in 1916. The restitution of looted artworks to Africa is one of the highlights of the "new relationship" Macron wanted to establish with the continent.