France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted unanimously on Thursday to repeal the Code Noir, a foundational slavery-era edict that has remained on the books for over three centuries. The bill, adopted with 254 votes in favor and none against, now proceeds to the Senate, where supporters anticipate approval. A timeline for the Senate vote has not yet been announced.
What Was the Code Noir?
The Code Noir, or Black Code, was signed by King Louis XIV at the Palace of Versailles in 1685. It established the legal framework for slavery across France's colonial empire. French philosopher Louis Sala-Molins described it as "the most monstrous legal text of modern times." The code's 60 articles first governed the French Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), and were later extended to French Guiana, Louisiana, and the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius.
Scale of the Slave Trade
France transported approximately 1.4 million Africans across the Atlantic, making it the third-largest European slave trader after Portugal and Britain. Enslaved people were forced to cultivate sugar cane, coffee, cotton, and indigo, often working in deadly conditions. Death rates exceeded birth rates, and planters routinely replaced the deceased with new shipments of enslaved Africans. By 1789, Saint-Domingue alone held around 500,000 enslaved people, more than any other Caribbean colony, and produced much of the world's sugar and coffee.
Key Provisions of the Code Noir
The Code Noir classified enslaved people as property. Article 44 declared them "movable property," allowing masters to buy, sell, mortgage, or bequeath them like land or furniture. Article 28 stated that enslaved people could "own nothing that does not belong to their master," meaning any earnings or gifts belonged to the master. Enslaved individuals had no legal name; from 1839, they were assigned a number and registration code. Only upon abolition in 1848 were they granted surnames.
Brutal Punishments
Article 38 mandated severe penalties for those who attempted to escape. The first offense resulted in the cutting off of ears and branding of one shoulder with a fleur-de-lis, the symbol of the French crown. A second offense led to the severing of a leg tendon and another branding. The third offense was punishable by death.
Article 33 ordered the death penalty for any enslaved person who struck a master, the master's wife, or children hard enough to leave a mark, draw blood, or strike them in the face. The article stated that such a slave "shall be punished by death."
Religious and Racial Edicts
The first article of the Code Noir expelled all Jews from France's colonies within three months, labeling them "declared enemies of the Christian name." Articles 2 and 3 mandated that all enslaved people be baptized and raised Catholic, and prohibited the public practice of any other religion.
Inherited Slavery
The code dictated that a child's status followed that of the mother. Thus, the child of an enslaved woman was born enslaved, even if the father was free. Children were enslaved from birth, and their food rations were set at half of an adult's.
Supposed 'Protections' Ignored
A few articles appeared to offer protections, requiring masters to feed and clothe enslaved people, refrain from torture, and avoid selling husbands, wives, and small children separately. However, historians note that these provisions were widely ignored. Owners who killed enslaved individuals were almost never punished.
The Code Noir became effectively obsolete when France abolished slavery in 1848, but it was never formally repealed until now. The repeal bill is seen as a long-overdue step to acknowledge the atrocities of slavery and remove the stain of this brutal legal text from French law.
