French senators have unanimously passed a bill allowing for the remains of people who were exhibited in colonial-era “human zoos” in Paris to be returned to their ancestral lands in French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America. The draft law meets a long-standing demand of Indigenous communities in France’s overseas territories, acknowledging a dark chapter from the country’s past.
Issued on: 19/05/2026 -
FRANCE24
By: Benjamin DODMAN
A ritual ceremony featuring the remains of Indigenous Kalina community members who died in 19th-century "human zoos" at Paris's Musée de l'Homme, September 17, 2024. © JC Domenech, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
A leisure park with more than 150 years of history, the Jardin d’acclimatation in Paris owes its distinctive name to a 19th-century fascination for exotic species shipped in from across the French Empire and beyond.
But it was not only plants and animals that were “acclimatised” to grey skies and cold winters in this leafy corner of the French capital.
Between 1877 and 1931, the amusement park hosted numerous “ethnological shows” displaying Indigenous groups from colonised lands in “traditional” dress, which drew huge crowds of visitors from Paris and across Europe.
Among the “exhibits” were 33 children, teenagers and young adults from the Kalina and Arawak people of modern-day French Guiana and neighbouring Suriname, whose 1892 ordeal in the Paris amusement park was the subject of a solemn vote held in the French Senate on Monday.
A leisure park with more than 150 years of history, the Jardin d’acclimatation in Paris owes its distinctive name to a 19th-century fascination for exotic species shipped in from across the French Empire and beyond.
But it was not only plants and animals that were “acclimatised” to grey skies and cold winters in this leafy corner of the French capital.
Between 1877 and 1931, the amusement park hosted numerous “ethnological shows” displaying Indigenous groups from colonised lands in “traditional” dress, which drew huge crowds of visitors from Paris and across Europe.
Among the “exhibits” were 33 children, teenagers and young adults from the Kalina and Arawak people of modern-day French Guiana and neighbouring Suriname, whose 1892 ordeal in the Paris amusement park was the subject of a solemn vote held in the French Senate on Monday.
A picture from the 1892 exhibition of indigenous Kalina and Arawak people at the Jardin d'acclimatation on the western edge of Paris. © Bonaparte Roland, Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac
In a rare display of unity, the upper chamber of parliament voted unanimously to return the remains of six Kalina members who died of sickness contracted during the colonial exhibition, backing a bill sponsored by a trio of lawmakers from left, right and centre.
Several senators spoke of their “shame” at the horror inflicted on Indigenous communities from what is now a full-fledged overseas department of France located on the northeastern coast of South America.
“We are talking about men and women, human beings torn from their land, their people, and their dignity,” said centrist lawmaker Catherine Morin-Desailly, who co-authored the bill with colleagues from the Communist Party and the right-wing Les Républicains.
‘Restoring their humanity’
The Senate bill – which the lower-house National Assembly is expected to approve – concerns six sets of remains that were exhumed for anthropological purposes in the late 19th century and have remained in public collections ever since. They will be returned to the Kalina’s ancestral lands more than 7,000 kilometres away, along with eight casts of parts of the deceased’s bodies also held at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, the Paris natural history museum.
Among the 33 Amerindians who were exhibited at the Jardin d’acclimatation in 1892 was 12-year-old Moliko, whose great-great-grand-daughter Corinne Toka-Devilliers has spearheaded efforts to repatriate the remains of those who never made it back. She spoke of her relief and joy at hearing the names of her ancestors ring out in the Senate chamber.
“Naming them restores their humanity,” she said. “It restores an identity to people who were kept in a museum for more than 130 years, nameless and unknown to all but their loved ones back home.”
Toka-Devilliers heads the association Moliko Alet+Po, which translates as "Moliko’s descendants" in the Kalina language. Its aim is to seek recognition and reparation for a colonial practice that stretched over multiple decades but has been largely silenced since.
Despite drawing condemnation from some quarters, including in Moliko’s day, "human zoos” continued in Europe well into the 1950s. Historians estimate that around 35,000 people from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania were exhibited for the “education” and amusement of European and US citizens between the 19th and 20th centuries.
“Acknowledging this history and the fact that men and women from an overseas French territory were exhibited in this way is a major step forward for the French state – and for all those who have been colonised,” said Toka-Devilliers. She described the French government’s support for the bill voted in the Senate as a “victory for our ancestors and for Indigenous people”.
In a rare display of unity, the upper chamber of parliament voted unanimously to return the remains of six Kalina members who died of sickness contracted during the colonial exhibition, backing a bill sponsored by a trio of lawmakers from left, right and centre.
Several senators spoke of their “shame” at the horror inflicted on Indigenous communities from what is now a full-fledged overseas department of France located on the northeastern coast of South America.
“We are talking about men and women, human beings torn from their land, their people, and their dignity,” said centrist lawmaker Catherine Morin-Desailly, who co-authored the bill with colleagues from the Communist Party and the right-wing Les Républicains.
‘Restoring their humanity’
The Senate bill – which the lower-house National Assembly is expected to approve – concerns six sets of remains that were exhumed for anthropological purposes in the late 19th century and have remained in public collections ever since. They will be returned to the Kalina’s ancestral lands more than 7,000 kilometres away, along with eight casts of parts of the deceased’s bodies also held at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, the Paris natural history museum.
Among the 33 Amerindians who were exhibited at the Jardin d’acclimatation in 1892 was 12-year-old Moliko, whose great-great-grand-daughter Corinne Toka-Devilliers has spearheaded efforts to repatriate the remains of those who never made it back. She spoke of her relief and joy at hearing the names of her ancestors ring out in the Senate chamber.
“Naming them restores their humanity,” she said. “It restores an identity to people who were kept in a museum for more than 130 years, nameless and unknown to all but their loved ones back home.”
Toka-Devilliers heads the association Moliko Alet+Po, which translates as "Moliko’s descendants" in the Kalina language. Its aim is to seek recognition and reparation for a colonial practice that stretched over multiple decades but has been largely silenced since.
Despite drawing condemnation from some quarters, including in Moliko’s day, "human zoos” continued in Europe well into the 1950s. Historians estimate that around 35,000 people from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania were exhibited for the “education” and amusement of European and US citizens between the 19th and 20th centuries.
“Acknowledging this history and the fact that men and women from an overseas French territory were exhibited in this way is a major step forward for the French state – and for all those who have been colonised,” said Toka-Devilliers. She described the French government’s support for the bill voted in the Senate as a “victory for our ancestors and for Indigenous people”.
Legislative loophole
Addressing his Senate colleagues ahead of the vote, conservative lawmaker Max Brisson, another of the bill's co-authors, said the case of the Kalina remains underscored “the urgent need to recognise the dehumanisation that underpinned the creation of certain (museum) collections”.
Such efforts are well underway in many of France’s leading museums, said Toka-Devilliers, who thanked the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and the Musée de l’Homme, part of the Muséum d’Histoire naturelle, for their help in identifying the remains.
Two years ago, the Musée de l’Homme hosted a group of shamans and other Indigenous leaders from French Guiana and Suriname, who gathered around their ancestors’ identified remains for a ritual ceremony designed to “appease their souls”.“Such museums have also evolved in recent years, coming to terms with their own history,” said Toka-Devilliers, who attended the ceremony. “It shows that a lot of work has been done to change attitudes towards France’s colonial past,” she added.
Representatives of the Kalina people gathered at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, in September 2024. © J.-C. Domenech, Musée national d'Histoire naturelle
While France has recently stepped up its efforts to return artworks and other precious items plundered during colonial times, a legislative loophole has so far hindered groups like Moliko Alet+Po from obtaining redress.
A framework law passed in December 2023 allowed for the return of human remains by making an exception to the principle that public collections are inalienable. But this procedure is reserved for requests from foreign states and therefore does not apply to France's overseas territories.
As she welcomed the Senate vote on Monday, Culture Minister Catherine Pégard expressed support for new legislation to “facilitate the repatriation of human remains to overseas territories” and respond to future requests – a demand backed by Moliko Alet+Po.
“Our people are ready to return home – and our land is ready to welcome them,” said Toka-Devilliers. “But we need a law that works for everyone, because there are many others like us who are still waiting to lay their ancestors to rest.”
While France has recently stepped up its efforts to return artworks and other precious items plundered during colonial times, a legislative loophole has so far hindered groups like Moliko Alet+Po from obtaining redress.
A framework law passed in December 2023 allowed for the return of human remains by making an exception to the principle that public collections are inalienable. But this procedure is reserved for requests from foreign states and therefore does not apply to France's overseas territories.
As she welcomed the Senate vote on Monday, Culture Minister Catherine Pégard expressed support for new legislation to “facilitate the repatriation of human remains to overseas territories” and respond to future requests – a demand backed by Moliko Alet+Po.
“Our people are ready to return home – and our land is ready to welcome them,” said Toka-Devilliers. “But we need a law that works for everyone, because there are many others like us who are still waiting to lay their ancestors to rest.”
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