France's National Assembly took an emotional step on Thursday toward erasing a legal relic of its colonial past, voting unanimously to annul the 17th-century 'Code noir' decrees that defined enslaved people as property. The bill, which now moves to the Senate for a vote at an undetermined date, is largely symbolic—France abolished slavery in 1848 and recognized it as a crime against humanity in 2001—but it has stirred deep feelings among lawmakers and activists alike.
A Legal Vestige of Colonial Brutality
The 'Code noir,' or 'Black Code,' was a series of royal edicts first issued under Louis XIV that governed the lives of enslaved people in France's Caribbean colonies. While the decrees mandated that enslaved people be baptized as Catholics and prohibited Sunday labor, they also classified them as 'moveable goods' that could be inherited, prescribed brutal punishments such as ear mutilation for attempted escape, and condemned children to the same status as their parents. The laws were never formally repealed after abolition, leaving a legal stain that activists have long sought to remove.
President Emmanuel Macron, who is serving his final year in office after two terms, threw his support behind the repeal last week. The vote in the lower house was met with tears and a standing ovation, particularly from lawmakers with ties to France's overseas territories.
'I'm thinking of my great-grandmother, Mama Bebelle,' said Greens lawmaker Steevy Gustave, his voice breaking. 'She was the grand-daughter of Ambroise Zerambe, born in Africa, then reduced to slavery under the number 336. We are not descendants of slaves. We are descendants of human beings who were born free, then reduced to slavery.'
Max Mathiasin, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe who championed the bill, was also moved to tears after the unanimous show of hands. 'Allow me to thank my mother,' he said.
Symbolism vs. Substance
France was the third-largest slave-trading nation in Europe, after Britain and Portugal. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, ships from French ports forcibly transported more than one million Africans to plantations in the Caribbean, according to expert estimates. The country first abolished slavery in 1794 during the French Revolution, but Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated it in Guadeloupe in 1802. It was finally abolished for good in 1848.
Despite the legal end of slavery, activists argue that its legacy persists in systemic racism and economic inequalities between mainland France and its overseas territories—former colonies such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Réunion that remain part of the French Republic. Dieudonné Boutrin, an activist from Martinique descended from enslaved people, said the annulment was long overdue but insufficient. 'It changes nothing. Black people are still looked at the same way,' he told reporters. 'Now we need to go beyond the symbolic,' urging a 'real reparations programme' including funding for educational projects to combat racism.
Serge Letchimy, an official from Martinique, echoed that call in an open letter to Macron earlier this month, demanding 'a law that clearly establishes the principle that the crimes of trafficking and slavery have caused lasting historical, cultural, social, economic and psychological harm.' He referenced a 10-point plan from Caribbean nations that includes international debt cancellation and support for healthcare and literacy.
Haiti's Lingering Wound
Among France's former colonies, Haiti stands out as a particularly stark example of enduring harm. After enslaved people rebelled and established the first independent black nation in the Americas in 1804, France forced Haiti to pay a massive 'reparation' in 1825 in exchange for recognizing its independence. To meet the demand, Haiti took out high-interest loans from French banks—a 'double debt' it only finished repaying in 1952. The economic toll has been cited as a root cause of the country's persistent poverty.
Macron last week acknowledged that the issue of reparations should be addressed but announced no concrete measures. The debate now shifts to the Senate, where the bill's fate remains uncertain. For many, the vote in the National Assembly is a necessary but insufficient step in confronting France's colonial legacy.
