De Valette's sword and dagger (1)

Since this year will mark the 200th anniversary of the end of the French occupation of Malta, I feel it would be appropriate for the government to ask France to return Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette's sword and dagger, which Napoleon's troops had...

Since this year will mark the 200th anniversary of the end of the French occupation of Malta, I feel it would be appropriate for the government to ask France to return Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette's sword and dagger, which Napoleon's troops had taken from the island in 1798.

The sword and dagger, which are exhibited at the Louvre in Paris, were a gift of King Philip II of Spain to De Valette, the hero of the Maltese victory over the Turkish invaders in the Great Siege of 1565. They should be displayed in a museum in Malta.

This official request should be made to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

France's return of these objects, which have great historical and intrinsic value for Malta, would be a much appreciated gesture.

After all, they are of no great historical importance to France.

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