Benin President Patrice Talon and Culture Minister Jean-Michel Abimbola travelled to Paris to bring home the artefacts that were snatched by French forces 130 years ago.
President Talon said he felt “overwhelming emotion” at recovering the objects taken during the ransacking of the kingdom of Dahomey in the south of present-day Benin, including a royal throne.
Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace in Paris, where France signed over the artefacts to Benin, Talon said the treasures were much more than cultural goods.
The French leader hailed a symbolic, moving and historic moment” which had been long-awaited by Africans.
