In a rare show of cross-party unity, France’s National Assembly has voted unanimously to abolish the notorious “Code Noir” – the 17th-century decree that enshrined slavery as a legal institution across the country’s colonies, treating human beings as chattel to be bought, sold and worked to death.
France’s lower house of parliament has voted unanimously to repeal the “Code Noir” (Black Code), the historic legal instrument that regulated slavery across all of the country’s former colonies, French media reported on Friday.
First signed by Louis XIV in 1685 and comprising 60 articles, the code legally classified enslaved people as “movable property.” Under its provisions, men, women and children could be sold and purchased, and subjected to forced labour. The code also set out punishments for escape – ranging from the amputation of ears to the death penalty.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Naïma Moutchou, minister for overseas territories, urged lawmakers to remove “this shameful text from our legal system”, even though it has long been effectively defunct. According to Moutchou, its imprint is still felt today.
The repeal of the Code Noir is symbolic rather than juridical in nature. Observers describe it as the latest step in France’s ongoing reassessment of its European colonial past. The bill must now be examined by the Senate. However, it has already received a favourable response from President Emmanuel Macron.
