Video Duration 28 minutes 00 seconds play-arrow28:00French MPs vote to repeal law that governed slavery in colonies.
The “Code Noir” (or Black Code) is a law many were shocked to discover still existed in France.
It dates back 400 years and outlines the rules that governed slavery in French Caribbean colonies – rules that allowed slave owners to treat their labourers as property that could be bought, sold and inherited; rules that permitted cruel punishment such as beatings – often to death – and hangings.
This week, French MPs voted unanimously to repeal the legislation. But is that enough?
And does it offer reparatory justice to the descendants of the victims of slavery?
Liliane Umubyeyi – Cofounder and executive director of the African Futures Lab
Marlene Daut – Professor of French and African diaspora studies at Yale University
Anne Giudicelli – Global relations specialist and former security analyst for the French Foreign Office
