The French National Assembly voted unanimously on May 28, 2026, to repeal the "Code Noir," a set of royal decrees issued from 1685 to 1724 that regulated slavery in French colonies and legally defined enslaved people as "movable goods." The vote was 254 in favor, none against [1, 2, 3].

The "Code Noir" codified the status of enslaved people, prohibiting their work on Sundays and imposing Catholicism, but also mandated brutal punishments and hereditary slavery. Despite France abolishing slavery in 1848, the laws remained on the books until the repeal vote [1, 2, 3].

Lawmakers from overseas territories described the decrees as institutionalizing racial inequality and denying the humanity of enslaved Africans. Max Mathiasin said, "The Black Code organised the denial of the humanity of women, men and children reduced to slavery because of their origin and the colour of their skin." He added the repeal "does not claim to erase history... but to take a new step, to make a powerful act of remembrance, justice and recognition" [1, 2].

President Emmanuel Macron supported the repeal, stating "The continued existence of the decrees was incompatible with the values of the French Republic." This vote occurs as Macron prepares to step down after two terms in 2027 [3]. The National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet said, "The Code Noir inscribed inhumanity into law. The National Assembly formally repeals it today unanimously" [3].

France was the third largest European slave trading nation after Britain and Portugal, responsible for forcibly transporting over one million Africans to plantations across colonial territories from the 17th to 19th centuries. French expeditions made up 13% of the European transatlantic slave trade [1, 2].

The repeal is largely symbolic, part of France's ongoing efforts to confront its colonial past. The bill requires the government to report on slavery’s legacy and how its history is taught in schools. However, debates continue over whether reparations should be included; the current repeal bill does not address reparations amid disagreement among lawmakers [2].

The bill now moves to the Senate, which has not set a vote date but is expected to debate it later in 2026 [1, 2, 3].