France Repeals Code Noir and Vatican Apologizes for Slavery While Both Refuse Material Repair

France's National Assembly voted 254-0 on May 28 to formally repeal the Code Noir, the 1685 royal decree that classified enslaved people as property, 178 years after France abolished slavery. Three days earlier, Pope Leo XIV became the first pope to apologize for the Vatican's institutional role in authorizing colonial enslavement through 15th-century papal bulls. Neither institution has committed to reparations or rescinded the foundational legal instruments that enabled centuries of Afrikan enslavement.

By Global Village News Staff

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