Trending Now - France Takes Steps to Revoke Historic Slavery Law
WHO:
AP News - Steevy Gustave, a lawmaker descended from enslaved Martinicans, stated, “but no vote alone can repair centuries of shattered lives.”
AP News - Max Mathiasin, from Guadeloupe, expressed, “This was made by human beings — against human beings.”
AP News - Max Mathiasin, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe, stated, “As the great-great-grandson of people who were enslaved, I had never been able to read it in full.”
AP News - Max Relouzat, president of the Association for the Memory of Slaveries, expressed that “under the cover of departmentalization, a colonial system was maintained.”
AP News - French lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament.
AP News - French President Emmanuel Macron.
AP News - Steevy Gustave, a lawmaker descended from enslaved Martinicans.
AP News - Max Mathiasin, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe.
AP News - Jean-Marc Ayrault, former prime minister and chair of the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery.
AP News - Pierre-Yves Bocquet, deputy director of the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery.
AP News - Max Relouzat, president of the Association for the Memory of Slaveries.
AP News - Florence Alexis, a slavery expert and daughter of Haitian writer Jacques Stephen Alexis.
AP News - Élodie Léon, a Paris-born individual with family from French Guiana.
AP News - Muriel Jean-Baptiste, a Paris-born nurse with parents from Martinique.
WHAT:
AP News - The Code Noir allowed enslaved individuals to be worked, beaten, sold, raped, and killed.
AP News - The realization that France never formally repealed the Code Noir has left many aghast.
AP News - The Code Noir classified enslaved individuals as “movable property” and included provisions for mutilation for those who fled.
AP News - France's overseas departments have a population of roughly 1.9 million people, most of whom are descendants of the enslaved.
AP News - French lawmakers adopted a bill to repeal the Code Noir, a 17th-century law governing enslaved people.
AP News - The National Assembly voted 254-0 to approve the repeal of the Code Noir.
AP News - The Code Noir was signed in 1685 by King Louis XIV.
AP News - France abolished slavery in 1848, but the Code Noir had never been formally repealed.
AP News - Macron floated the idea of reparations for slavery.
WHERE:
AP News - France, specifically the National Assembly in Paris.
AP News - French overseas departments including Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Réunion.
WHEN:
AP News - The bill was adopted on a Thursday, with no specific date provided.
AP News - The Taubira law's 25th anniversary was on May 21.
WHY:
AP News - President Macron stated, “The silence, even the indifference, that we have maintained for nearly two centuries toward this Black Code is no longer an oversight. It has become a form of offense.”
AP News - The repeal is seen as a necessary step to restore dignity and humanity to descendants of enslaved individuals, according to Max Mathiasin.
AP News - The repeal is viewed as an important step in reckoning with France’s colonial past.
AP News - The realization that France never formally repealed the Code Noir has left many aghast.
AP News - Macron stated that the silence and indifference toward the Code Noir has become a form of offense.
HOW:
AP News - The debate in the National Assembly turned raw, highlighting the emotional weight of the repeal.
AP News - The National Assembly's vote to repeal the Code Noir was a rare show of unanimity, with a vote count of 254-0.
AP News - The repeal was achieved through a unanimous vote in the National Assembly.
(UPDATED May 28, 2026 18:00 UTC)
In a powerful debate in the National Assembly, lawmakers expressed their outrage over the realization that France never formally repealed the Code Noir, which allowed for the brutal treatment of enslaved individuals. Steevy Gustave, a lawmaker descended from enslaved Martinicans, emphasized that “no vote alone can repair centuries of shattered lives,” while Max Mathiasin from Guadeloupe noted, “This was made by human beings — against human beings.” President Macron acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating, “The silence, even the indifference, that we have maintained for nearly two centuries toward this Black Code is no longer an oversight. It has become a form of offense.”
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(UPDATED May 28, 2026 16:21 UTC)
In a historic move, the National Assembly voted unanimously to repeal the Code Noir, a law that classified enslaved individuals as "movable property" and included harsh penalties for those who fled, with a vote count of 254 to zero. Lawmaker Max Mathiasin, a descendant of enslaved people, expressed the significance of this repeal, stating that he had never been able to read the law in full until now, while Max Relouzat, president of the Association for the Memory of Slaveries, highlighted how colonial systems were maintained under departmentalization. This repeal is viewed as a crucial step toward restoring dignity and humanity to the approximately 1.9 million people in France's overseas departments, most of whom are descendants of the enslaved.
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(UPDATED May 28, 2026 12:07 UTC)
French lawmakers in the National Assembly have unanimously adopted a bill to repeal the Code Noir, a 17th-century law governing enslaved people, with a vote of 254 to zero. This significant decision comes as President Macron has suggested the possibility of reparations for slavery, acknowledging the importance of addressing France's colonial past. The realization that the Code Noir had never been formally repealed has shocked many, highlighting the need for a reckoning with history.