France's National Assembly to Vote on Annulling 341-Year-Old Code Noir Slave Laws
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 25
France's National Assembly to Vote on Annulling 341-Year-Old Code Noir Slave Laws
7 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 25
May 28 will bring a National Assembly vote on a cross-party bill to formally annul the Code Noir, the slave laws imposed on French colonies in 1685.
Max Mathiasin, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe, wrote the bill after lawmakers pressed then-Prime Minister François Bayrou in May 2025 over why the code still remained on the books.
The Code Noir treated enslaved Africans as heritable property and tied slavery to Louis XIV's Catholic order, beginning with a provision expelling Jews from Caribbean colonies.
The vote would be largely symbolic, but it spotlights how religion and colonial power were fused in France's slave system — a history critics say has long been minimized.
As France annuls its 341-year-old slave code, will this lead to actual reparations or remain a symbolic gesture?
Can erasing a law that once defined humans as property truly dismantle the systemic racism it helped create in France?
The 2026 Repeal of France’s Code Noir: Symbolic Justice, Historical Reckoning, and the Push for Reparations
Overview
On May 28, 2026, France's National Assembly formally repealed the Code Noir, a decree issued by King Louis XIV in 1685 that symbolized historical injustice and colonial-era policies. This repeal marks a symbolic break with a controversial past, but observers note it brings no immediate practical effects and does not commit French authorities to new actions. While the move is seen as easy for the government to accomplish, its real impact on combating racism and inequality remains uncertain. The decision highlights the ongoing tension between symbolic gestures and the need for substantive change in addressing France's colonial legacy.