On the 6th, the French National Assembly voted 141 in favor and 0 against to pass a draft law aimed at simplifying the process of returning illegally acquired cultural relics from other countries. The draft text has reached a consensus through the equal mixed committee of both houses of parliament and is expected to be reviewed and approved by the Senate on the 7th.

However, French Prime Minister Le Corbyn explicitly stated that only cultural relics that have been scientifically determined to be illegally obtained based on strict legal standards will be returned.

Alexander Polje, a member of parliament who serves as the Vice Chairman of the Mixed Committee of the Two Houses of Parliament, also emphasized the "rigor" and "non automation" of cultural relic return in his speech at the National Assembly on the same day. He said that the draft text sets clear standards for the source, acquisition conditions, and time of returnable cultural relics, "rejecting any vague logic, automation, or ambiguity".

According to current French law, cultural relics that are deemed "in the public domain" are "generally non transferable" and their return requires legislative processing on a case by case basis, with a complex procedure. The latest draft proposes to establish an institutional mechanism that allows foreign cultural relics obtained by France through theft, plunder, and other means between 1815 and 1972 to be "removed" from the "public domain" and simplifies the return process, provided that the conditions for return are met; The relevant return matters can be approved through administrative procedures without the need to separately formulate special laws.

During her speech in the National Assembly, French Minister of Culture Catherine P é jar stated that France had previously lacked a long-term response framework in the face of requests for cultural relics recovery from multiple countries. She reiterated that this legislation aims to grant the government the authority to return cultural relics that are subject to strict restrictions and come with multiple safeguards. On the one hand, the draft law clearly stipulates the scope of application of cultural relics that can be returned; On the other hand, the return process must be strictly regulated, that is, all return applications must be reviewed by a bilateral scientific committee established through consultation between France and the requesting country, and the opinions of the National Cultural Property Return Committee must be sought.

After the results of the National Assembly vote were announced, Le Corbyn posted on social media that returning stolen or illegally obtained cultural property is a "moral requirement". He emphasized that the purpose of this legislation is not to rewrite history, but to make us take responsibility and return cultural property that was improperly acquired.

In 2017, French President Macron promised during his visit to Burkina Faso to promote the process of returning cultural property to African countries. In July 2025, the French government will initiate a rapid legislative process for relevant draft laws. The French Senate and National Assembly respectively approved the corresponding draft in January and April of this year, and proposed amendments to the text.

On April 30th, a peer mixed committee consisting of 7 members of the National Assembly and 7 senators reached a consensus draft text. According to the procedure, the two houses of parliament must review and approve completely consistent texts before they can be submitted for promulgation.