French National Assembly votes to repeal colonial-era slavery decrees

France’s lower house of parliament voted unanimously Thursday to repeal centuries-old royal decrees that codified slavery in French colonies, marking a symbolic step in the country’s reckoning with its colonial past.

Lawmakers in the National Assembly approved legislation to formally annul the “Code Noir,” a set of 17th- and 18th-century laws that regulated slavery across French colonial territories. The measure passed 254-0, according to results published by the Assembly.

Although slavery was abolished in France in 1848, the decrees were never officially repealed.

The legislation still requires approval by the Senate before it can become law. A vote in the upper chamber has not yet been scheduled.

French President Emmanuel Macron endorsed the repeal earlier this month, saying the continued existence of the decrees was incompatible with the values of the French Republic.

Speaking at the Elysee Palace during a ceremony marking 25 years since France recognized slavery and the slave trade as crimes against humanity, Macron said France must confront its history honestly and acknowledged that the suffering caused by slavery could never be fully repaired.

Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, welcomed the vote in a post on US social media company X as a decision made “in the name of humanity, of equality, of universality.”

“The Code Noir inscribed inhumanity into law,” wrote Braun-Pivet. “The National Assembly formally repeals it today unanimously.”

She added that France must “explain without erasing, acknowledge to transmit,” as the country continued to confront its past “with lucidity” 25 years after the Taubira law recognized slavery as a crime against humanity.

The debate about “Code Noir” comes amid growing calls from activists and lawmakers for France to address the legacy of slavery, colonialism and racial inequality.