Deputies of the French National Assembly voted unanimously on Thursday to abolish the colonial code (the so-called Code Noir – Black Code), which in the past classified enslaved people as movable property. This is a symbolic step in coming to terms with one of the darkest chapters of the French colonial past, the AP agency reported.
She clarified that although France abolished slavery in 1848, the code from the 17th century was not formally removed from the legal order until Thursday’s vote.
The law proposal to abolish this code was submitted by the MP from the French island of Guadeloupe, Max Mathiasin. His proposal won support across the political spectrum, and on Thursday all 254 lawmakers present voted for it. The vote was preceded by an emotional debate in the plenary session, when several MPs pointed out that the symbolic repeal of the law will not remove historical grievances.
The Black Code was adopted in 1685 during the reign of King Louis XIV. He regulated slavery in the French colonies, defining enslaved people as “movable property” that could be traded. At the same time, related regulations stipulated extremely harsh punishments for runaway slaves, including their branding, mutilation, or execution.
The vote on the proposal to abolish this code took place 25 years after the so-called The Taubira Act, which recognized slavery and the slave trade as a crime against humanity. This legislation represented an important milestone in France’s coming to terms with its colonial past. Mathiasin called the repeal of the code “a powerful act of justice, but also reminded that a vote alone cannot erase centuries of suffering. He acknowledged that it was an important symbolic step towards acknowledging historical injustice.”
French President Emmanuel Macron backed the proposal last week, saying 60 articles of the colonial code “should never have survived the abolition of slavery”. He added that long-term silence or indifference towards him has become a certain form of moral guilt in France. However, Macron, like his predecessors in office, did not choose the path of official apology in this case.
France was one of the largest colonial powers and, as part of the transatlantic slave trade, it forcibly transported approximately 1.4 million Africans to work on plantations whose wealth contributed to the development of cities such as Nantes and Bordeaux. Bthe former colonies later became full-fledged French departments, where significant social and economic differences persist even today.
Although the French government described Thursday’s parliamentary vote as an important symbol, several historians and activists point out that that it does not really solve the ongoing inequalities or racism in the country, which they say are the legacy of the colonial system.
