{"id":1582,"date":"2026-05-21T15:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/21\/macron-under-pressure-over-reparatory-justice-for-frances-role-in-slave-trade\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:40:28","slug":"macron-under-pressure-over-reparatory-justice-for-frances-role-in-slave-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1582","title":{"rendered":"Macron under pressure over reparatory justice for France\u2019s role in slave trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"99847b4c-bc1b-4d16-a6d3-50df429cc415\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Pierre Guillon de Princ\u00e9, an elderly white man, stands with Dieudonn\u00e9 Boutrin, a middle-aged black man with grey hair, at an event to unveil a memorial. They both wear dark blue suits and open-necked pale blue shirts and hold hands to each other's backs and touch hands in front. \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f5a018dddfa5b64924684c60f21477896bf3bf75\/829_536_3497_2797\/master\/3497.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.9202173291393\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Pierre Guillon de Princ\u00e9, left, a descendant of slave-ship owners, and Dieudonn\u00e9 Boutrin, a descendant of enslaved Africans trafficked from Benin to Martinique, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/may\/02\/pressure-mounts-france-enslavement-reparatory-justice-framework\">have called for<\/a> a process of dialogue in France. <\/span> Photograph: Thomas Louapre\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"99847b4c-bc1b-4d16-a6d3-50df429cc415\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Pierre Guillon de Princ\u00e9, left, a descendant of slave-ship owners, and Dieudonn\u00e9 Boutrin, a descendant of enslaved Africans trafficked from Benin to Martinique, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/may\/02\/pressure-mounts-france-enslavement-reparatory-justice-framework\">have called for<\/a> a process of dialogue in France. <\/span> Photograph: Thomas Louapre\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Macron under pressure over reparatory justice for France\u2019s role in slave trade<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Demands grow for launch of formal discussion process on how country should address legacies of enslavement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to open discussions on reparatory justice for France\u2019s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people as he makes a key speech on the legacy of slavery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On Thursday the French president will celebrate the 25th anniversary of France becoming the first country in the world to recognise the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity in a 2001 law brought by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/dec\/17\/christiane-taubira-considers-running-for-french-presidency\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Christiane Taubira<\/a>, a former MP from French Guiana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Macron\u2019s office said \u201cthe memorial work around the question of slavery and the slave trade is a permanent project of recognition for the president\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As he enters his final months as president, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/may\/02\/pressure-mounts-france-enslavement-reparatory-justice-framework\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">demands are growing on Macron <\/a>to launch a formal discussion process on how to address the legacies of enslavement in French society. France <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/04\/bally-bagayoko-austerity-politics-french-mayor-tackling-far-right\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">is facing a political row <\/a>over racism in politics, the media and society, and the far right is polling high in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The sense of urgency comes amid anger in France that its representatives \u2013 alongside those of the UK and other European nations \u2013 abstained in March\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/mar\/25\/un-votes-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity-reparatory-justice\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">UN vote<\/a> to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the \u201cgravest crime against humanity\u201d and call for reparations as \u201ca concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"a6c088ad-9986-4943-81f2-231e907e6722\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Emmanuel Macron stands outside the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace with his hands clasped in front of his body. He wears a grey suit and dark tie. \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/50f6afe58d3238fd2b0e521b3ceca6e4613b8ff5\/0_0_5601_3734\/master\/5601.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.66666666666663\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"a6c088ad-9986-4943-81f2-231e907e6722\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Emmanuel Macron\u2019s office said: \u2018The memorial work around the question of slavery and the slave trade is a permanent project of recognition for the president.\u2019<\/span> Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Victorin Lurel, a Guadeloupe senator, wrote in an open letter to Macron that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/france\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">France<\/a> had committed a \u201cmoral, historic, diplomatic and political mistake\u201d in abstaining and had \u201ctarnished\u201d its image internationally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">From the 16th to the 19th centuries, France was the third largest trafficker of enslaved people across the Atlantic and Indian oceans among the European nations, after Portugal and Britain. France was responsible for kidnapping and enslaving about 13% of the estimated 13 to 17 million men, women and children forced from Africa across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-ri3hap\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"1c6a1302-e4c4-4186-9f2e-97112ba5eec6\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-9 | 9\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/may\/02\/pressure-mounts-france-enslavement-reparatory-justice-framework\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">\u2018Such huge consequences\u2019: pressure mounts on France to act on enslavement reparatory justice <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Among those calling for a process of dialogue in France is <a href=\"https:\/\/coquenomade-fraternite.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Dieudonn\u00e9 Boutrin<\/a>, who heads the International Federation of Descendants of the History of Slavery and is a descendant of enslaved Africans who were trafficked from Benin to the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Boutrin works alongside Pierre Guillon de Princ\u00e9, a descendant of 18th-century slave-ship owners in Nantes, who last month <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/18\/french-man-86-issues-historic-apology-for-familys-role-in-transatlantic-slavery\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">made a formal apology<\/a> for his ancestors\u2019 role in transporting about 4,500 enslaved Africans to the Caribbean, at least 200 of whom died at sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Boutrin and Guillon de Princ\u00e9 wrote to Macron this month asking him to initiate discussions on reparatory justice. They said this would \u201crestore trust between our communities, acknowledge the reality of history, foster a spirit of brotherhood, and heal the psychological wounds suffered by communities of colour who have been made to feel inferior. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/slavery\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Slavery<\/a> is a wound whose scars are still visible through racism, the spread of which we have so far been unable to halt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A\u00efssata Seck, the director of France\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/memoire-esclavage.org\/en\/our-history#:~:text=The%20creation%20of%20the%20Foundation,grow%20in%20French%20overseas%20territories.\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery<\/a>, an advisory body to the government partly funded by the state, and its president, the former prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, published an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/idees\/article\/2026\/04\/07\/apres-le-vote-de-l-onu-sur-la-traite-des-esclaves-africains-la-france-ne-peut-s-abstenir-d-agir_6677840_3232.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">open letter <\/a>to Macron last month asking for France to take the lead in opening up dialogue on how to address and repair the racism and inequality that are legacies of enslavement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Paris is regarded as crucial to the global discussion on reparations, because several \u201coverseas departments and regions\u201d remain part of France, such as the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and the Indian Ocean islands of R\u00e9union and Mayotte. In these places, structural inequalities and disparities on employment, health, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/sep\/19\/martinique-protest\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the cost of living<\/a>, pollution and environmental safety are seen by local parliamentarians as a direct legacy of the mechanisms of enslavement and colonialism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">France is also facing demands for potentially billions of dollars in reparations to Haiti, after it imposed a harsh financial penalty on the country in 1825 to compensate owners of enslaved people after the Haitian revolution. That debt, which many Haitians blame for two centuries of turmoil, was only fully repaid to France in 1947. In 2025, Macron announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/apr\/17\/haiti-france-reparations-independence-ransom-anniversary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">joint commission<\/a> with Haiti to examine the issue, with conclusions due by the end of this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">France was the only country to bring back slavery, when Napoleon reinstated it in 1802 after a first attempt to ban it in 1794. Slavery was finally abolished in 1848, with compensation awarded to the owners of enslaved people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/slavery\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Slavery<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/news\/series\/cotton-capital-ongoing-series\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Cotton Capital: ongoing series<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/france\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">France<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/emmanuel-macron\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Emmanuel Macron<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/caribbean\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Caribbean<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/haiti\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Haiti<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/americas\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Americas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Macron%20under%20pressure%20over%20reparatory%20justice%20for%20France%E2%80%99s%20role%20in%20slave%20trade&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/may\/21\/macron-pressure-reparatory-justice-france-slave-trade-legacies-enslavement?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fnews%2F2026%2Fmay%2F21%2Fmacron-pressure-reparatory-justice-france-slave-trade-legacies-enslavement&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=news\/2026\/may\/21\/macron-pressure-reparatory-justice-france-slave-trade-legacies-enslavement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pierre Guillon de Princ\u00e9, left, a descendant of slave-ship owners, and Dieudonn\u00e9 Boutrin, a descendant of enslaved Africans trafficked from Benin to Martinique, have called for a process of dialogue &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1582\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}