France moves to symbolically repeal slavery legislation

French lawmakers voted to formally repeal slavery-era laws that defined enslaved people as movable property and justified abuse and corporal punishment. The vote is largely symbolic because slavery was outlawed more than 170 years ago, and the old royal decree had been superseded rather than overturned. France had been a major European trader of enslaved people, with estimates indicating more than a million people were trafficked from African ports via French ships to Caribbean colonies. The bill passed the lower house unanimously and must still be approved by the Senate. If adopted, the government must report to parliament on the consequences of colonial law, lasting effects on racism and discrimination, and how slavery history is taught in schools. The Code noir was never formally abrogated after abolition in 1848 or after slavery and the slave trade were recognized as crimes against humanity in 2001.

"French lawmakers on Thursday voted to formally repeal slavery-era laws that defined the legal status of enslaved people as "movable property" and justified abuse and corporal punishment. While slavery was outlawed more than 170 years ago in France, making Thursday's motion a symoblic move to formally repeal an old royal decree that was superseded not overturned, the vote comes as the country continues to grapple with its colonial legacy."

"If adopted, the bill would require the government to report to parliament on the consequences of colonial law and the lasting effects of slavery on racism and discrimination in French society, as well as how the history of slavery is taught in schools. The legislation to be repealed a series of royal edicts issued between 1685 and 1724 known as the "Code noir" or Black Code was never formally abrogated when France abolished slavery a second and final time in 1848, or when it recognized slavery and the slave trade as crimes against humanity in 2001."

"All 254 parliamentarians present in the lower house voted in favor. The bill still must clear debate in the upper house, the Senate, which is seen as a formality. If adopted, the bill would require the government to report to parliament on the consequences of colonial law and the lasting effects of slavery on racism and discrimination in French society, as well as how the history of slavery is taught in schools."

""This proposal does not claim to erase history, nor to single-handedly heal the wounds of history," said Max Mathiasin, a centrist member of parliament from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe as he presented the law. "It aims to take a new step, to make a powerful act of remembrance, justice and recognition, by formally repealing the Code noir and all the t"

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