France moves towards symbolic repealing of slavery legislation

France is expected to repeal colonial-era legislation that defined enslaved people in its overseas colonies as “moveable goods.” French lawmakers will debate a bill to annul royal edicts known as the “Code noir” or “Black Code,” with the Senate to consider it before it can pass. The decrees from the 17th and 18th centuries regulated the lives of enslaved people, requiring they be Catholics and restricting work on Sundays. They also treated enslaved people as inheritable property and prescribed brutal punishments, including mutilation for escape attempts. They condemned children of enslaved people to the same status as their parents. France abolished slavery over 170 years ago and recognized slavery and the slave trade as crimes against humanity in 2001.

"France is Thursday expected to move towards repealing outdated legislation that defines people enslaved in its colonies as "moveable goods", in a symbolic move as the country grapples with its colonial legacy."

"The decrees, the first of which were written under Louis XIV, ruled over the lives of enslaved people in the colonies. They declared all enslaved people should be Catholics, and banned owners from making them work on Sundays, according to a copy on the French parliament's website. But they also referred to them as "moveable goods" who could be inherited, outlined brutal punishment including mutilation of the ear for trying to escape, and condemned the children of enslaved people to the same fate as their parents."

"President Emmanuel Macron, who is stepping down next year after his maximum two terms in office, last week threw his support behind repealing these laws. Lawmakers in the lower house will on Thursday debate a bill to annul the royal edicts, and the Senate is then to have its say at an undetermined date before the law can pass."

"France abolished enslaving humans more than 170 years ago, and in 2001 recognised slavery and the slave trade as "crimes against humanity". But a series of royal decrees from the 17th and 18th centuries that established the legal status of enslaved people in its colonies, called the "Code noir" or "Black Code", were never explicitly overturned."

Read at The Local France