Mexican president irked by French auctions of artifacts

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says French auction houses had gone beyond the pale with brazen sales of pre-Hispanic artifacts. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said some auction houses had even taken to sending Mexico’s archaeological institute photos of relics, asking if they were genuine so they could sell them for more money. López Obrador said he told the government agency to stop responding to such requests. The president also took a dig at the French government, which has done nothing to stop a series of such auctions in recent years. López Obrador said Monday the French should be more like the Italian government, which returns artifacts.