In May 2025, François Bayrou, the prime minister of France at the time, faced an unexpected question from a Parliament member: Why hadn’t France officially revoked the Code Noir, the laws that once enforced slavery in its colonies? Many were unaware that the laws remained on record. Although surprised, Bayrou promised to introduce a bill to annul the Code, hoping for unanimous support. Despite his government’s later downfall, the Code seemed poised to remain in effect.
A year on, a cross-party bill, crafted by Max Mathiasin from Guadeloupe, is set for a National Assembly vote on May 28 to abolish the slave laws—341 years after King Louis XIV enacted them. This action is long overdue. Yet, the significance of the Code Noir extends beyond a mere symbolic vote. It warrants deeper examination of France’s colonial slavery framework.
The Code Noir is largely known for legally turning African captives into ‘movable goods,’ or inheritable property. While some think it primarily served economic interests, its foundation was in Louis XIV’s Catholic conservatism. Notably, its first article didn’t address enslaved Africans, but rather expelled Jews from Caribbean territories.
Integral to the Code was the promise of salvation for enslaved Africans, a direct result of Louis’s belief in Catholicism’s benevolence. In contrast, English colonies such as Virginia avoided baptizing captives due to Protestant views against enslaving Christians. Louis’s outlook suggested that forced labor could serve as a path to divine goodwill.
Religious groups, like the Jesuits tasked with educating all in the colonies, operated slave plantations for financial support. Jean-Baptiste Labat, a Dominican priest in Martinique during the 1690s, illustrates this. Running a sugar plantation, Labat baptized slaves, yet ordered severe punishments for African religious practices. His dual capacity for compassion and cruelty wasn’t just a moral lapse; it exemplified the system’s intended function.