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The basement of the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris: surveillance cameras line featureless, windowless corridors. Here, 26 art treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey, including a wooden statue of King Gezo, are packed for transportation before leaving Paris and finally returning to their country of origin, today's Benin. Together with thousands of other objects, they were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. The camera follows with forensic interest as Gezo is carefully wrapped and cushioned in his box. A strange feeling remains as the lid closes, the nails are hammered in and we are left in the dark with the camera and the king. Once in Benin, a political debate flares among the students at the University of Abomey-Calavi: how should the returning objects be received? (ML)