National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Slavery and Their Abolition in France Date in the current year: May 10, 2026

Although chattel slavery and serfdom were abolished in France in the early 14th century, the French colonial empire practiced slavery in its colonies beginning in the 17th century while it remained banned in mainland France. Slave labor was essential for large-scale agricultural production and the inexpensive extraction of raw materials. Every year, the French trafficked thousands of African slaves to the French West Indies.

Slavery was first abolished in the French colonial empire during the French Revolution by a decree adopted by the National Convention of the French First Republic on February 4, 1794. However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery in the French colonies on May 20, 1802, after coming to power. Napoleon abolished the slave trade in 1815 during his brief second reign, and the ban was upheld by King Louis XVIII in 1818. Nevertheless, slavery remained legal in French colonies until April 27, 1848.

On May 10, 2001, the French Parliament adopted a law recognizing the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity (La loi du 21 mai 2001 tendant à la reconnaissance de la traite et de l’esclavage en tant que crime contre l’humanité). The law is also known as the Taubira Law, named after Christiane Taubira, who submitted the original law proposal while she was a member of the National Assembly.

Taubira proposed designating February 8 as a day to remember victims of the slave trade and slavery. This day would commemorate the Declaration of February 8, 1815 adopted at the Congress of Vienna. In this declaration, the European powers opposed to Napoleon’s regime pledged to abolish the slave trade. However, this suggestion was not included in the final text of the law due to a lack of consensus regarding the date.

Several years later, writer Maryse Condé, then president of the National Committee for the Memory and History of Slavery, proposed observing the anniversary of the Taubira Law as a remembrance day. President Jacques Chirac supported her proposal and designated May 10 as the National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Slavery and Their Abolition. The first observance took place on May 10, 2006. The ceremony took place in the Luxembourg Garden and was presided over by Chirac.

This is one of two remembrance days in France that honor the victims of slavery and transatlantic slave trade. The other is the National Day in Homage to the Victims of Colonial Slavery (Journée nationale en hommage aux victimes de l’esclavage colonial), observed every May 23 since 2017. It should noted that the overseas departments and regions of France celebrate the abolition of slavery on other dates: April 27 in Mayotte, May 22 in Martinique, May 27 in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, June 10 in French Guiana, October 9 in Saint Barthélemy, and December 20 in Réunion.