Voices: Who owns the past? Bayeux Tapestry loan reignites Elgin Marbles debate

As cultural treasures criss-cross borders in the name of diplomacy, a deeper debate looms: who really has the right to own the great relics of history? And are temporary loans a diplomatic fix, or a way of dodging the bigger question?

President Macron’s decision to loan the Bayeux Tapestry – likely stitched in Kent but kept in Normandy for centuries – has also reignited a more contentious debate: whether Britain should return other historic artefacts, most notably the Elgin marbles.