The French National Assembly has unanimously voted to repeal the so-called “Black Code” – a document signed by King Louis XIV in 1685 that equated enslaved people with property and allowed their exploitation. This is reported by The Guardian.
The decision was voted down by 254 deputies, with no votes against. The 17th-century law regulated the treatment of slaves in French colonies and remained in force for almost 180 years after the official abolition of slavery in France.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the code “should never have survived the abolition of slavery” in 1848.
“The silence, even the indifference, that we have maintained regarding this ‘Black Code’ for almost two centuries is no longer an omission. It has become a form of insult,” he said.
Macron also stressed that the issue of possible compensation for slavery was a topic “that we should not abandon,” but that the country “should not make false promises.”
During the debate in parliament, deputies reacted emotionally to the fact that the document still formally existed in French law. Martinique MP Stevie Gustave, whose ancestors were slaves, addressed the National Assembly with the words:
“No vote by itself can fix centuries of ruined lives. We are not descendants of slaves, we are descendants of people who were born free and then reduced to the worst – reduced to slavery.
During the debate before the vote in the lower house of parliament, many were surprised that this law still formally exists. Almost 180 years after the abolition of slavery in France, the “Black Code” remained in force. Its 60 articles regulated all areas of the life of an enslaved person: article 44 defined it as “movable property”, and other provisions actually allowed slaves to be beaten, sold, raped and killed.
