France Commemorates End of Slavery
150 years since slavery and France commemorates the victims of its slave trade, but many people are left unsatisfied.
Today, France will commemorate the victims of its massive slave trade, following the law passed in 2001 which legally recognized slavery as a crime. There are a few events scheduled in Paris and Nantes, where many of the slave ships passed through. However, after 158 years since slavery, many African slave desendants feel that the "commemoration is not enough".
During the height of France's colonial power it ruled over one third of the African continent. 1.25 milion slaves passed through the sea port city of Nantes and the trade generated alot of money for the French economy. After a Haitian revolt, slavery was abolished in 1794. (However in 1802 slavery was breifly re-introduced and then abolished again in 1848.) France continued to rule over its far-flung colonies until 1960 when they became independant. Eloi Coly, the curator of the Slave House in Senegal thinks that little has changed since slavery left his country, "We have the impression that France needs the poverty and ignorance of Africa".
Many Africans, Caribbeans and second-generation French beleive that France is a very racist society. Racial segregation and injustice seems to be the cause of many of the riots in the crime ridden districts of France. And many Africans feel that the colonial balance since slavery has not changed at all, and that they are part of a "modern form of enslavement". Faced with staggering unemployment levels at home, many young African men come to France looking for work. "When France needed to develope after the Second World War it had access to African labor. Now they think African immigrants are the root and cause of their unemployment and their housing problems," said Eloi Coly.
Nantes will hold a minute of silence for the victims of it brutal past, while in Paris the Louvre Museum will hold special tour and exhibitions explaining the slave trade and showing artwork and manuscripts. A plaque of honor will also go up in the Luxembourg Gardens, and Jacques Chirac wil alsol address the crowd.
During the height of France's colonial power it ruled over one third of the African continent. 1.25 milion slaves passed through the sea port city of Nantes and the trade generated alot of money for the French economy. After a Haitian revolt, slavery was abolished in 1794. (However in 1802 slavery was breifly re-introduced and then abolished again in 1848.) France continued to rule over its far-flung colonies until 1960 when they became independant. Eloi Coly, the curator of the Slave House in Senegal thinks that little has changed since slavery left his country, "We have the impression that France needs the poverty and ignorance of Africa".
Many Africans, Caribbeans and second-generation French beleive that France is a very racist society. Racial segregation and injustice seems to be the cause of many of the riots in the crime ridden districts of France. And many Africans feel that the colonial balance since slavery has not changed at all, and that they are part of a "modern form of enslavement". Faced with staggering unemployment levels at home, many young African men come to France looking for work. "When France needed to develope after the Second World War it had access to African labor. Now they think African immigrants are the root and cause of their unemployment and their housing problems," said Eloi Coly.
Nantes will hold a minute of silence for the victims of it brutal past, while in Paris the Louvre Museum will hold special tour and exhibitions explaining the slave trade and showing artwork and manuscripts. A plaque of honor will also go up in the Luxembourg Gardens, and Jacques Chirac wil alsol address the crowd.