France commemorates abolition of slavery

By Nur Asena Erturk

France commemorated on Friday the abolition of slavery in a ceremony with the attendance of the prime minister.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who led the ceremony held in the western city of La Rochelle, announced a “big national exposition” in 2026, to commemorate the abolition of slavery and celebrate the 25th year of the law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity.

Attal also hailed former slaves’ “spirit of resistance” and noted that the limits of humanity were “breached and surpassed with slavery.”

“This history is a part of the world’s, Europe’s, France’s history,” Attal added. “For a very long time, a veil was put on this past. … Recognizing it is not a weakening, on the opposite, it is a growth."

The commemoration ceremony was held out of Paris for the first time.

France commemorates the abolition of slavery across the country on this date each year.

The country originally abolished slavery in 1794 before the practice was restored by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in the French colonies in 1802-1804. It was later abolished permanently in 1848.