On December 7, in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, the Nahñu people convened an assembly of some 30 of their representatives to draft a lengthy letter to French MPs. "We ask for your help in returning the Codex Borbonicus, kept in the library of the Assemblée Nationale since 1826," the note started. It explained that certain traditions depicted in this manuscript, dating back to pre-Hispanic and colonial times and describing the rites and customs of indigenous peoples, are still very much alive, notably "the lighting of torches, made from cactus, to announce festivals." Anthropologists María Angélica Galicia Gordillo and Sergio Sánchez Vázquez have confirmed that these pre-Hispanic practices are described in the document.

Thanks to the mediation of radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) MP Eric Coquerel, doctor Emilia Mendoza Espinoza, a representative of this community, was able to see a copy of the precious codex in Paris, in August 2023. "I felt both privileged and sad to see our history being stored so far away from us," said the young woman. "We perpetuated these traditions because we resisted colonization and it's our role today to preserve what our ancestors left us."

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