Macron Backs Repeal of France's Colonial Slavery Decrees

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday endorsed the symbolic repeal of royal decrees that governed slavery in France's former colonies. The move comes as France marks the 25th anniversary of its 2001 law recognizing the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity. Macron said the continued existence of the decrees represented a form of offense and a betrayal of republican values.

France abolished slavery in 1794 during the Revolution, restored it in 1802 under Napoleon Bonaparte in Guadeloupe, and abolished it again in 1848. Royal decrees from the 17th and 18th centuries that established the legal status of enslaved people in the colonies were never formally overturned.

In 2001, France became the first country to recognize slavery as a crime against humanity but stopped short of reparations.

Macron said the immense question of reparations must be addressed but warned against making false promises. "We must have the honesty to say that we can never fully repair this crime, because it is impossible," he stated. He added that no number or words could ever bring the history to a close. Macron indicated he had not made a final decision on reparations.

the National Assembly's law committee backed a bill to repeal the Code Noir. The bill now requires votes in both houses of parliament. Macron, whose second and final five-year term ends next year, faces growing calls to initiate formal dialogue on the legacy of slavery.

France has long sought to be color-blind, with racial discrimination meant to be taboo, though rights activists have pointed to deep-seated racism in the country. The French were the third-largest slave traders in Europe after the British and the Portuguese.