AN AUCTION in France of possessions that belonged to the first Senegalese president has been delayed, AFP learned today, as Senegal negotiates with the owner over buying them directly.

The items, which were to be auctioned in Caen, include Leopold Sedar Senghor’s military jewellery and decorations, plus various other objects.

Rings, bracelets, pendants and watches are listed as part of the collection.

But Senegalese President Macky Sall had earlier asked the culture minister, together with the Senegalese embassy in Paris, to enter into “appropriate discussions” with the auctioneer.

“My seller and I perfectly understand the excitement caused by this sale among the Senegalese and we therefore decided to postpone the sale,” auctioneer Solene Laine told AFP today.

She said that instead they would hold negotiations over the next few weeks and hope to find “common ground.”

She said the Sengalese state wanted to acquire the entire Senghor portfolio, which is currently owned by a private individual.

Senghor, a poet, writer and professor before he became president, was a champion of the “Negritude” movement founded in the 1930s with Aime Cesaire and Leon Gontran Damas.

He fought for former colonial power France during the Second World War and was the first African to be admitted to France’s Academie Francaise. 

President of Senegal from 1960 to 1980, he died in France at the age of 95.

If an agreement cannot be reached over the direct sale of the items, organisers said an auction would be held in December instead. – AFP, October 21, 2023.