![France approves returning 15 artworks stolen from Jews](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/57/3e/da/France-approves-returning-15-artwor-494756.jpg)
-
'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
![France approves returning 15 artworks stolen from Jews](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/57/3e/da/France-approves-returning-15-artwor-494756.jpg)
France approves returning 15 artworks stolen from Jews
The French senate Tuesday approved the return of 15 artworks looted from Jews during World War II, as part of efforts by the government to accelerate restitutions.
The vote authorises public museums holding the works, including the world-famous Musee d'Orsay in Paris, to hand over the property to the heirs of the original owners.
French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot welcomed the "historic" move.
It was the first time in 70 years that the French government had made serious steps to return artworks "that were acquired in troubling circumstances during the occupation because of anti-Semitic persecution", she said.
She called the legislation a "first stage" in returning objects "still being conserved in public collections -- objects that ought not, and should never have been there".
The Senate approved the bill, after it cleared the lower house of parliament in late January. Now all it requires is the signature of President Emmanuel Macron to enter into force.
Thousands of paintings by some of the world's most famous artists were looted or forcibly acquired during the Nazi occupation of France.
Since the end of the conflict, they have been kept in custody by public museums such as the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
- Klimt to be returned -
In 2018, the government set up a special unit to try to track down the heirs of the owners, rather than waiting for them to come forward, in what was a bid to speed up the process.
One of the paintings set to be returned is titled "Rose bushes under trees" by Gustav Klimt. Currently held by the Musee d'Orsay, it is the only painting by the Austrian master owned by the French state.
It was acquired in 1980, but subsequent research has shown it was forcibly sold by Austrian collector Eleonore Stiasny in Vienna in 1938 before she was deported and killed.
In December, another four works of looted art were returned to their Jewish owner's legal heirs.
The watercolours and drawings by French 19th-century artists were seized in 1940 from businessman Moise Levi de Benzion.
Until these four works were returned, only 169 artworks had been restored to their owners since 1951 out of an estimated 2,200 held by the French state.
The French culture ministry estimates that a total of 100,000 artworks were seized in France during the war, when the country was administered by the Nazis and an anti-Semitic French collaborationist regime.
In November, France handed back 26 treasures looted from the West African nation of Benin during the colonial era, part of a separate pledge by Macron to restore some artworks to the continent.
T.Vitorino--PC