French Parliament Votes Unanimously to Remove Colonial-Era ‘Black Code’ from Law

PARIS: France’s National Assembly has unanimously voted to repeal the infamous colonial-era “Code Noir” (Black Code), nearly two centuries after slavery was abolished in the country.

Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved the bill by a 254-0 vote on Thursday, formally removing from French law the 1685 decree introduced under King Louis XIV to regulate slavery in France’s colonies.

The Code Noir classified enslaved people as property and granted slave owners sweeping powers, including the right to buy, sell, punish and exploit enslaved individuals. The law also imposed brutal penalties on those who attempted to escape slavery.

The decision sparked emotional scenes in parliament, particularly from lawmakers with ancestral ties to formerly enslaved communities.

Steevy Gustave, a member of parliament descended from enslaved people from the Caribbean island of Martinique, described the repeal as symbolically important but insufficient to erase the suffering caused by centuries of slavery.

“We are not descendants of slaves,” Gustave said tearfully during the debate. “We are descendants of human beings born free, then reduced to slavery.”

Under Article 44 of the Code Noir, enslaved people were officially classified as “movable property,” effectively treating human beings as commodities. Punishments for escape attempts included branding, mutilation and even execution, while enslaved individuals were denied legal recognition and rights.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently acknowledged that the continued existence of the law in France’s legal framework was unacceptable.

“The silence, even the indifference, that we have maintained for nearly two centuries toward this Black Code is no longer an oversight,” Macron said last week. “It has become a form of offense.”

However, like previous French leaders, Macron stopped short of issuing a formal apology for France’s role in the slave trade.

France operated one of the world’s largest colonial slave-trading networks, transporting an estimated 1.4 million Africans to plantations across its colonies. Wealth generated through the sugar trade significantly contributed to the development of major French cities, including Nantes and Bordeaux.

The repeal marks a symbolic step in France’s ongoing reckoning with its colonial and slavery-related past.