France’s Senate approves the repeal of the “Code Noir,” a 341-year-old set of colonial regulations that governed slavery. The vote follows longstanding efforts to remove outdated laws that continued to exist in the legal system well after slavery was abolished.
Both outlets describe the action as largely symbolic, since the practice of slavery has been illegal for well over a century. The New York Times frames the change as scrapping rules that remained on the books for decades after abolition, while The Punch highlights the historical span—178 years after emancipation—emphasizing the law’s persistence in legislation despite its abolition in practice. The Senate’s decision ends the “Code Noir”’s formal legal standing.
No details are provided in the excerpts about specific replacement measures, implementation steps, or broader legal reforms, but the reported context is that France is cleaning up legacy colonial statutes tied to slavery.
