A petition to 'reclaim' the British crown jewels has been signed by 2500 people in the town of Angers, and the man behind it says he is ready to go to trial over the issue.

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Artist Calixte de Nigremont, the man who initiated the petition, says there will be a trial to finalise which country has the rights to the jewels during the upcoming Accroche-Coeurs street festival.

Speaking exclusively to The Local, Nigremont said: “The petition is serious. It’s a bit of a nod towards the British to remind them of the history and relationship between France and the United Kingdom.

“If we do eventually get back the crown jewels I plan to do with them what you do in the UK, and display them for the public to see. I like to think if it as giving something back to the French public.”

The Plantagenet petition, named after the house of Kings who ruled in England until the 16^th Century, claims the crown is rightfully theirs after Henry VII Tudor decapitated the last Angevin heir to the throne, Edouard Plantagenet, in 1499.

At its widest extent, the Angevin dynasty controlled England, parts of Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the entire western side of France. The dynasty's heartland was in Angers and Chinon, where the monarchs traditionally held court.

“In compensation for the plundering of the rights of the Angevin dynasty and the political assassination of its last direct descendent,  this petition demands that the United Kingdom give back to the Angevins, rightful heirs to the Plantagenets, the Crown Jewels,” reads the petition statement.

After receiving 2500 signatures through an online petition and arranging trial dates for the 7, 8 and 9 September, Nigremont is calling on British lawyers to start preparing themselves.

“I’m in the middle of talks with British lawyers, who are extremely interested in the case and say it is absolutely worth defending.

“I have also spoken to British historians who say the petition absolutely has a legitimate grounding.”

Buckingham Palace has apparently heard about the story through reports in British papers, but refuses to comment.