With the escalation of the Paris protests...demands to protect 55,000 Egyptian artifacts

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In the context of fears of the impact of widespread protests in France, the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage expressed its deep concern following the closure of the Louvre Museum in Paris, calling on the French authorities and the museum administration to take the maximum security measures to protect the Egyptian archaeological collections located there.

The Foundation stressed that the Egyptian antiquities on display are an integral part of human heritage and a red line that must be preserved against any possible damage resulting from the ongoing unrest, expressing its hope that stability and calm will quickly return to the French streets and the regularity of public life, stressing that security is the basic guarantee for protecting cultural and civilizational capabilities.

The Foundation stressed that the Egyptian cultural heritage is a global trust that must be preserved and preserved in the face of all exceptional circumstances.

In special statements to Al-Arabiya.net and Al-Hadath.net, Dr. Magdy Shaker, chief archaeologist at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that the Egyptian collection in the Louvre Museum includes more than 55,000 archaeological pieces, including 6,000 pieces on display that extend over about 5,000 years of Egyptian history; Starting from pre-dynastic times until the early Coptic era.

He stated that this collection is one of the largest ancient Egyptian collections outside the country, and among its most prominent pieces displayed in the Louvre is the Great Sphinx of Tanis, the statue of Elka, the statue of the Egyptian writer, and the Zodiac of Dendera.

Shaker continued, explaining that what is currently required of the French government is to fully ensure the safety of Egyptian pieces, review the protection and control system, and strictly secure warehouses and exhibition halls, in addition to strengthening institutional communication between the relevant French authorities and the competent Egyptian authorities. He stressed that major museums are institutions for preserving human heritage and not just places for tourist exhibitions, and their primary responsibility is to preserve archaeological collections and ensure their safety for future generations.

The chief archaeologist pointed out that concern about the Egyptian antiquities inside the Louvre Museum is a legitimate concern. Because it is not just about pieces on display, but rather physical evidence of one of the oldest human civilizations.

He stressed that this incident opens the door to the need to strengthen Egyptian-French cooperation in the field of heritage protection, exchange information related to securing antiquities, and apply international standards for the preservation of cultural property.

Shaker concluded his statements by noting that the file of Egyptian antiquities found abroad should be dealt with based on scientific documentation, international agreements, and legal records for each piece, with a distinction between demanding the return of antiquities proven to have been issued illegally, and pieces found in museum collections that have different legal statuses, stressing that the goal in the end is not to provoke a crisis, but rather to ensure the protection of Egyptian heritage, the preservation of Egypt’s historical and cultural rights, and to deal with the file with a clear scientific and legal approach.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Mahmoud Mahran, professor of public international law and member of the American and European Associations of International Law, expressed in exclusive statements to Al Arabiya.net and Al-Hadath.net his deep concern about the protests taking place in Paris that led to the closure of the entrance to the Louvre Museum against the backdrop of an escalating wave of violence. The French Minister of the Interior admitted that the police lost control in some cities during that period.

Mahran supported the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage’s demand to take urgent measures to protect the Egyptian archaeological collections displayed inside the museum, calling on the French side to activate the protection protocols agreed upon in the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Emergency Situations.

Mahran continued that international law recognizes in the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 and its Second Protocol the principle of full responsibility of the custodial state for the safety of foreign cultural property deposited on its territory.

He stressed that the Egyptian antiquities displayed in the Louvre, although they are the subject of an ongoing historical debate between Cairo and Paris over their ownership and the need to return them, at the current stage they remain a trust in the hands of the French state that requires providing them with full protection in all circumstances, including internal disturbances.

Dr. Mohamed Mahran indicated that he renews the call to open serious negotiations between Egypt and France regarding the return of looted Egyptian antiquities to their original homeland, stressing that the disturbances threatening the Louvre Museum today clearly embody the fundamental argument that Egypt has always presented, which is that the civilization of the Pharaohs is safer in Egypt and under the protection of its people than being hostage to street protests in Europe or unpredictable internal chaos.