The French Parliament has voted to repeal the Code Noir, a 1685 decree that classified humans as property. The bill, proposed by MP Max Mathiasin, passed unanimously in the lower house of Parliament.
The French Parliament has voted to repeal the Code Noir , a 1685 decree that classified humans as property. The bill, proposed by MP Max Mathiasin, passed unanimously in the lower house of Parliament, with 254 votes in favor and none against.
The Code Noir, also known as the Black Code, governed the treatment of enslaved people in the Caribbean island of Martinique, where it was signed by King Louis XIV. The code declared enslaved people as 'movable property' and allowed for brutal punishments, including branding and the amputation of ears. Despite being abolished in 1848, the Code Noir remained on the books, and its repeal is seen as a step towards acknowledging France's past as a colonial power.
The overseas departments of Martinique, French Guiana, and Réunion, which are governed from Paris, remain among the poorest territories in France. Unemployment is high, and more than three-quarters of households in the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte live below the national poverty line. The repeal is also seen as a way to restore the humanity of the descendants of enslaved people, who are French citizens but feel treated as second-class citizens.
The French government has acknowledged that the repeal is not enough to repair the centuries of damage caused by slavery, but it is a step towards acknowledging the past and living up to the country's motto of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The Foundation for the Memory of Slavery, chaired by a former prime minister, has called for greater recognition of the colonial exception, which allowed the French Republic to suspend its founding rights for those under its rule.
The principle outlived the empire and is still seen as a problem today, with people in the overseas territories having fewer rights than in mainland France. France is not alone in holding onto fragments of its empire, but its unique history and the treatment of its overseas departments make it a special case. The repeal of the Code Noir is seen as a small step towards reckoning with the past and living up to the country's values
France Code Noir Slavery Colonial Power Overseas Departments
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