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The windows of the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a sleepy town in southern Benin, are covered in dust and the exhibition halls plunge into the darkness.
But the head of local tourism, Gabin Djimbade, hopes that all this will change with the return of 26 artifacts of the former French colonial master and the construction of a new museum.
"These objects are a chance for the survival of the site," Djimbade told AFP during his visit of the vast courtyards lined with bas-reliefs dating back to the 18th-century kingdom of Dahomey.
"They will allow us to build a new museum and make the royal palaces more economically sustainable."
In November, President Emmanuel Macron made the historic decision to return the works of art – including a royal throne – taken by French troops over a century ago and preserved at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.
This decision exacerbated the pressure exerted on the former colonial powers to return stolen artifacts to their home countries – and made a lifebuoy in Abomey a dream.
The kingdom of Dahomey reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a major source of slaves for European traders before the conquest of Paris in the 1890s that ended his reign.
A loan of 20 million euros ($ 22.5 million) from the French Development Agency will now finance the new museum and aims to make the UNESCO World Heritage Site a reality. more attractive hectares for visitors.
While Benin welcomed France's decision to return the objects, he warned against the risk of doing so too quickly.
Macron wants the works of art to be restored "without delay", but the museum of Abomey should open only by 2021 and the Benin Heritage Agency said that the country needed time to be "really ready".
& # 39; Good opportunity & # 39;
Djimbade said the museum's plans to showcase its history and heritage had already undergone several changes.
At first, "it was all 3D videos, and you would have thought you were in a theme park or in Dubai," he joked.
The last project should be more sober, integrate with local architecture and rely more on natural lighting and less on plasma screens.
But building physical infrastructure is only part of the challenge.
Djimbade said the other big priority was to find people who would work as guides and develop the expertise needed to properly maintain and restore the works.
"Four years ago, the Quai Branly in Paris wanted to train two young Beninese in the restaurant industry," he said.
"We looked everywhere for scientists, but we found none – and we finally sent a history student."
At the School of African Heritage in Porto-Novo, capital of Benin, a dozen students aged 23 to 53 years are working diligently to participate in the project.
This is the "first series" of a new training program aimed at developing the various skills required, said their teacher, Richard Sagan.
"In a museum, it's not just the curator," said Sagan, a specialist in Benin's heritage agency.
"There is a whole chain of trades, composed of technicians and skilled craftsmen".
The members of the clbad have already worked in the cultural field and insisted that the return of works of art from France could be a great stimulant.
"It's a great opportunity for young people," said Messie Boko, a 28-year-old student guide in a city museum.
"It's our job to know how to spread this legacy."
& # 39; Heritage of the world & # 39;
Alain Godonou is called "Mr. Benin inheritance" by his colleagues from the national agency.
He may have studied in France but he never had access to the 5,000 or so objects of the kingdom of Dahomey held by the country.
A former UNESCO official, Godonou, told AFP that preparing the return of the objects had been a "goal" of his life.
But he insisted that Benin still had to adopt a comprehensive legal framework to protect heritage.
With regard to the 26 objects, they should only be the beginning of a larger process.
Godonou said that Benin wanted to "recover its property rights" on all works of art preserved abroad – even if that did not mean their return home permanently.
"We want the work to move, that's our philosophy," he said. "In the end, they are part of World Heritage."
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