Paris · 北京 Beijing
On 13 April 2026, the French National Assembly adopted at first reading the “draft law on the restitution of cultural property to States that have been deprived of it through spoliation”. This draft law, presented to the Senate in July 2025 by the French Minister of Culture, had been adopted at first reading by the Senate on 28 January 2026. In view of the substantive amendments proposed by the National Assembly during its first examination of the bill adopted at first reading by the Senate, and in accordance with French legislative procedure, a “joint committee” comprising seven members of the National Assembly and seven senators drafted, on 30 April, a compromise text which was adopted by the National Assembly on 6 May, by the Senate on 7 May and published in the Official Journal on 9 May 2026: “Act no. 2026-351 of May 9, 2026, relating to the restitution of cultural property subject to illicit appropriation."
