French Parliament votes to repeal 1685 Code Noir

French lawmakers are set to vote Thursday to formally repeal the Code Noir, a 1685 decree that regulated slavery in the nation’s colonies and remained on the books nearly two centuries after slavery was abolished. The bill, expected to be adopted by the National Assembly, will eliminate the law signed by King Louis XIV that classified enslaved people as movable property and permitted extreme brutality.

President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the law's 60 articles should never have survived the 19th century abolition of slavery. He described the prolonged silence and indifference toward the Black Code as a form of offense, though he stopped short of issuing an apology. The move reopens a broader debate about France’s historical legacy and contemporary inequalities.

The Code Noir, which declared enslaved people as chattel and prescribed mutilation for those who fled, lost all legal authority in 1848 when France abolished slavery. However, it was never formally annulled. Many citizens expressed shock upon learning the law still existed. Muriel Jean-Baptiste, a nurse with family roots in Martinique, said she was stunned that a law treating Black people as property had been...