Hollande says France will give historical artifacts 'asylum' from ISIS
At a UNESCO conference Tuesday in Paris, French President Francois Hollande said parliament will consider a law granting "asylum" to pieces of art and archeological treasures at risk of being destroyed by the Islamic State.
"The right to asylum applies to people... but asylum also applies to works, world heritage," he said. ISIS has already decimated ancient sites in Iraq and Syria, and Hollande said "at this very moment," the group is working to find priceless artifacts that can be sold on the black market.
In order to keep ill-gotten cultural goods out of the country, France will also incorporate into its legislation resolutions banning the transport, transit, and trade of items taken illegally from certain countries, Agence France-Presse reports.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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