France returns human skulls to Madagascar, 128 years after French massacre

"France has returned to Madagascar three human skulls kept at a Paris museum for 128 years, after they were looted during the colonial period, including one believed to be that of a Madagascan king decapitated by French troops. The skull, presumed to be that of King Toera, and two others from the Sakalava ethnic group, were formally handed over at a ceremony held at the French Ministry of Culture on Tuesday."

"French troops beheaded King Toera during a massacre of locals in 1897, with his skull then taken back to France as a trophy, and placed in Paris's national history museum alongside hundreds of other remains from the Indian Ocean island. These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati said at the event."

France returned three human skulls to Madagascar after 128 years in a Paris museum. One skull is presumed to be King Toera, who was beheaded by French troops during an 1897 massacre. The returned remains belong to the Sakalava ethnic group and were handed over at the French Ministry of Culture. French officials acknowledged that the skulls entered national collections in ways that violated human dignity and reflected colonial violence. Madagascar described the taking as a century-long open wound and said the remains are not collectors' items. A joint scientific committee confirmed Sakalava origin but could only presume one skull belonged to Toera. The transfer followed a 2023 French law enabling returns of such artifacts.

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