French senators have approved a bill to return the remains of individuals exhibited in colonial-era 'human zoos' to their ancestral lands in French Guiana. This acknowledges a demand from Indigenous communities.

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.