In a rare display of political unity, France's national assembly voted unanimously to repeal the historic Code Noir, a 17th-century law that had codified the brutal treatment of enslaved people in its colonies. The vote, passed 254-0, puts an end to a legal framework signed by King Louis XIV in 1685, which shockingly remained on the statute books for almost 180 years after France first abolished slavery. This pivotal moment is seen as an important step in acknowledging Paris’s deep role in the slave trade and potentially paving the way for reparations, an idea recently supported by President Emmanuel Macron.

The Code Noir, often referred to as the "Black Code," was a comprehensive set of 60 articles that governed every aspect of an enslaved person's life. Article 44 notoriously declared a person "movable property," a dehumanizing classification that stripped individuals of their fundamental rights. Other clauses decreed severe punishments, including mutilation for those who attempted to flee, and explicitly stated that the word of an enslaved person held no legal weight. The decrees also mandated that all enslaved people should be Catholic and banned owners from making them work on Sundays, while condemning the children of enslaved parents to the same fate.

France’s historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade was substantial; it was the third-largest slave trading nation, after Britain and Portugal. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, an estimated 1.4 million Africans were forcibly transported by French ships to sugar plantations in its colonies, particularly in the Caribbean. The immense wealth generated from this brutal system helped build prominent French cities such as Nantes and Bordeaux. One of the wealthiest of these colonies was Saint-Domingue, on the island of Hispaniola. In 1804, enslaved people in Saint-Domingue rose up to secure independence, establishing Haiti as the first independent black nation in the Americas. However, Paris forced the newly freed nation to pay colossal reparations to former slave owners, a debilitating debt that Haiti continued to pay until 1947.

The debate in the National Assembly was charged with emotion, with many lawmakers expressing astonishment that such a law still existed. Steevy Gustave, an MP from Martinique whose ancestors were enslaved, shared his profound sentiments, stating, "No vote alone can repair centuries of shattered lives. We are not descendants of slaves, we are descendants of human beings born free, then reduced to the worst – reduced to slavery." Similarly, Max Mathiasin, an MP from Guadeloupe who championed the repeal motion, was visibly moved, reflecting on the vote as "a way of restoring our ancestors, restoring our humanity" and fulfilling the French Republic's promise of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged the historical oversight, stating the code "should never have survived the abolition of slavery" in 1848, and that the "silence, even the indifference," maintained for nearly two centuries, has become "a form of offence." While supporting the repeal, Macron emphasized the need to address the issue of reparations without making "false promises." He also mentioned the establishment of a joint commission of French and Haitian historians to issue recommendations regarding Haiti's historical debt.

Despite the symbolic significance of the repeal, activists and officials argue that it is merely a first step. Dieudonne Boutrin, an activist from Martinique, asserted that while the repeal "changes nothing" in how black people are perceived, it necessitates moving "beyond the symbolic" towards a "real reparations programme." This includes initiatives like more funds for educational projects to transmit history and combat systemic racism, as well as broader proposals such as international debt cancellation and support for healthcare in former colonies. Serge Letchimy, another official from Martinique, highlighted the "lasting historical, cultural, social, economic and psychological harm" caused by slavery. Pierre-Yves Bocquet of France’s Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery noted that the Code Noir was at the root of the country's "colonial exception," leading to fewer rights for people in overseas territories compared to mainland France. These overseas departments—Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Réunion—remain some of France’s poorest territories, with high unemployment and many households living below the national poverty line, underscoring the enduring legacy of colonialism and slavery.