The repeal of the Code Black in the National Assembly of France: the historic speech of MP Steevy Gustave

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On May 28, 2026, a unanimous vote in the French Parliament repealed the Black Code law promulgated in 1685 under Louis XIV (with a reissue in 1724 under Louis XV). It was this law that regulated and conditioned the practice of slavery in the former French colonies between the end of the 17th and the first half of the 19th century. We can certainly consider as an anomaly the fact that such a law remained alive in French legal texts while slavery had been abolished throughout French territories since 1848 (for Mauritius it was in 1835 under British administration).

We can of course imagine the symbolic dimension that this âanomalyâ has continued to represent in the philosophical armor of the French, and especially the symbolic memorial weight that the populations that had been victims of slavery under French colonization have continued to bear, since that date.

Of all the speeches that took place on May 28, 2026 in the French National Assembly on the repeal, there is one, in particular, that marked the minds of the parliamentarians present that day, but also the French media in general. It was the historic and moving speech from environmentalist MP Steevy Gustave, who made references to âLes Antillesâ, where his father hails from.

Because Steevy Gustave's speech has direct echoes with certain identity issues that have been part of the current affairs of our own country for several decades, we are proposing here the essence of this speech, but in a version in Mauritian Creole, for reasons that also have a historical and identity link with the issue itself.

Professor Arnaud Carpooran,

OSC

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email:lemauricien.redaction@gmail.com

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