France and Madagascar Form Committee to Review Repatriation of Colonial-Era Remains

On Thursday, the culture ministers of France and Madagascar announced a joint effort to begin the process of repatriating human remains seized while the African nation was under French colonial rule.

Officials from both countries revealed the appointment of a joint scientific committee to conduct a review Madagascar’s claim to the legal title of the skull of King Toera, a Sakalava king who was beheaded by French troops in the late 19th century. The decapitation happened during a military campaign to suppress a rebellion in the tribal region of Menabe. France officially colonized Madagascar in 1896, and Madagascar gained independence in 1960.

This agreement between the two countries follows the passing of a French law in December 2023 mandating the state to facilitate the restitution of human remains held in its public collections. It’s a legal move meant to target objects in France’s archeological collections linked to violence in formerly colonized territories.

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the announcement as a significant one in an ongoing move to rectify parts of the country’s colonial past. Volamiranty Donna Mara, a representative of Madagascar’s role in the joint plan, said the return of the royal remains is a significant step for the Malagasy people, while Christophe Marion, a member of France’s parliament, described it as “an act of reconciliation.”

The French government will make decision on the repatriation after the reviewing committee handling Madagascar’s request makes an official recommendation about the status of King Toera’s skull and the remains of two Sakalava chiefs being held in the Museum of Natural History in Paris.