France Votes to Formally Repeal 339-Year-Old Slavery Code

France just took a powerful step toward reckoning with its colonial history. On Thursday, every single lawmaker present in the National Assembly voted to formally repeal the Code noir, a series of royal edicts from 1685 to 1724 that legally defined enslaved people as "movable property."

The unanimous vote came from all 254 parliamentarians in the chamber. The bill now moves to the Senate, where passage is expected.

While slavery was abolished in France in 1848, these brutal laws were never technically removed from the books. The Code noir allowed masters to buy, sell, and mortgage human beings, stripping enslaved people of their names and reducing them to numbers. France was Europe's third-largest slave trader, with ships from French ports trafficking over a million African men, women, and children.

Max Mathiasin, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe who presented the bill, emphasized its purpose. "This proposal does not claim to erase history, nor to single-handedly heal the wounds of history," he said. "It aims to take a new step, to make a powerful act of remembrance, justice and recognition."

The vote became deeply personal for many lawmakers with Caribbean heritage. Greens lawmaker Steevy Gustave, whose father was born in Martinique, fought back tears as he spoke. "I'm thinking of my great-grandmother, Mama Bebelle," he said. "She was the granddaughter of Ambroise Zerambe, born in Africa, then reduced to slavery under the number 336."

French President Emmanuel Macron backed the motion this month. He even raised the possibility of reparations, though no concrete proposals were included in this bill.

The Ripple Effect

The new law requires more than symbolic action. France's government must now report to parliament on how colonial law continues to affect racism and discrimination in French society today. The report will also examine how slavery's history is taught in schools, creating accountability for education and awareness.

Some lawmakers, including Marcellin Nadeau from Martinique, believe this is just the beginning. "In my opinion, we must fight on the issue of reparations, which is the essential question," he said. Caribbean nations have proposed a 10-point plan that includes international debt cancellation and support for healthcare and literacy programs.

While debates about reparations continue, this vote represents real progress. By formally removing these laws, France acknowledges that the past still shapes the present and that confronting historical wrongs matters for building a more just future.