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As France passes law on returning loot, should China pop the champagne?

In November 1861, during his self-imposed political exile, French writer Victor Hugo penned a blistering condemnation of his country.
The author of Les Misérables described two…

By Samantha Johnson / May 17, 2026

In November 1861, during his self-imposed political exile, French writer Victor Hugo penned a blistering condemnation of his country.

The author of Les Misérables described two “bandits” – France and Britain – who had attacked the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, in Beijing the previous year. “One plundered, the other burned.”

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“The French empire has pocketed half of this victory, and today with a kind of proprietorial naivety it displays the splendid bric-a-brac of the Summer Palace.

“I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China.”

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Nearly 165 years later, on April 13, as parliamentarians gathered to vote on a landmark bill to streamline the return of looted cultural artefacts, National Assembly Deputy Jeremie Patrier-Leitus invoked Hugo’s words. When the vote was tallied – 170 in favour, zero against – he declared that the day Hugo hoped for had finally arrived.

A bust of Victor Hugo on display in the grounds of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo: Xinlu Liang
A bust of Victor Hugo on display in the grounds of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo: Xinlu Liang

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