French commission agrees to return Egyptian art

[October 10, 2009]  PARIS (AP) -- France has agreed to return to Egypt artifacts that prompted a row over ownership of antiquities and led Egypt to cut ties with the Louvre Museum.

The French Culture Ministry says experts with France's national museum authority agreed Friday to return the painted wall fragments from a 3,200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor.

An official with the ministry confirmed the decision was reached after a specially convened meeting in Paris on Friday. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to ministry policy.

Egypt's antiquities chief took his campaign to recover the nation's lost treasures to a new level on Wednesday by cutting ties with the Louvre over the artifacts.

[Associated Press]

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