Battle for the Elgin Marbles escalates into a Napoleonic war
FIRST it was the Elgin Marbles, now the remains of an emperor are the subject of debate involving a clause in the Brexit negotiations demanding the return of historic treasures.
French historians have demanded the repatriation of Napoleon III, who died in exile in Britain and was laid to rest in a Kent church in 1873.
A request has been sent to the Foreign Office asking the Government to consider the remains of the emperor, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, in any future negotiations over repatriation of cultural artefacts.
It follows the EU adding an “Elgin Marbles clause” to its demands for a post-Brexit trade deal, requiring both sides to “address issues relating to the return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin”. Greek authorities denied reports that the return of the marbles from the British Museum was a condition of the deal, but it raised concerns that countries would use the talks to settle grievances with Britain.
For the French, it is a chance to seek the return of a key 19th-century figure. Dimitri Casali, a historian, is leading calls for Napoleon to be sent home.
“This is the moment,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “The body of Napoleon III could be a sign. It will be an elegant gesture of reconciliation between England and France. We created the Entente Cordiale. Perhaps this could be the second Entente Cordiale. It could be a sign of solidarity.”
Napoleon died three years after he was defeated by Otto von Bismarck, later fleeing to England. His body was moved to St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, Hants in 1888 – his wife Eugenie died in 1920 and is buried there.
He had supervised vast imperial and economic expansion, along with a cultural flowering and the beautification of Paris. Some academics in France argue he should be returned to his glittering imperial city as a grand symbol, to educate and inspire the nation far more than the banal figures of politics.
“He was a very, very great man,” said Mr Casali. “It’s very important for France to have the body of Napoleon III. England has their Royal family, but we have nobody, we have [President] Macron. France had been a monarchy for 1,000 years before it was a republic. He represented the republic and monarchy.” Mr Casali, supported by other academics, has requested the Foreign Office considers the emperor’s entombed body in future diplomacy between the UK and EU nations.
Paris’s Saint-Augustin church has been suggested as a fitting resting place for Napoleon, who ruled, first as president then as emperor, from 1848 to 1870. There is no space next to his uncle in the capital’s Les Invalides church.
It is understood from the Ministry of Justice that the Benedictine monks running St Michael’s Abbey would have to approve the removal of his body.