France votes to end slavery-era law which classed people as property (opens in new tab)

The vote to repeal ‘Code Noir’, which saw slaves beaten, raped and killed in France’s colonies, comes almost 180 years after its abolition of slaveryFor almost 180 years after France abolished slavery, the “Code Noir” (Black Code) allowing enslaved humans to be treated as property and worked, beaten, sold, raped or killed, remained in place.On Thursday, the country’s bitterly divided national assembly voted unanimously to repeal it, in a rare show of political unity.