The judges of the Fort-de-France Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed several associations of their request for reparation and compensation for crimes of slave trade and slavery by the French State.
These associations, which since 2005 have initiated several legal proceedings for reparation, have always been dismissed.
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In their judgment, which AFP was able to consult, the magistrates essentially confirmed a judgment of the Fort-de-France court of April 4, 2017. They noted the inadmissibility of the claims of the International Movement for Reparations ( MIR), an anti-colonialist association, and a natural person, and dismissed the plaintiffs of all of their claims.
Prescription of the facts confirmed
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal confirmed in particular the prescription of the facts in relation to the action brought.
The decision also underlines that the Taubira law of May 2001, which recognizes the slave trade and slavery as a crime against humanity, had clearly ruled out the principle of financial reparation to compensate the descendants of slaves.
Forty-eight individuals and three associations had sued the State in order to obtain reparations for the crimes against humanity constituted by the slave trade and slavery.
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"
We are more determined than ever
," reacted Garcin Malsa, president of MIR Martinique. "
The next step is the appeal in cassation
," he added. The MIR plans to eventually seize “
the European Court of Human Rights and Freedoms
”. The Court of Appeal "
is part of the continuity of the positioning of the French judges which does not surprise us
", observed Me Alain Manville, the lawyer of the MIR with the local radio RCI. “
The French State will not escape its fate, repeated questioning until the right to compensation is obtained
,” he warned.
“
It is a satisfactory decision because it responds very completely to all the arguments raised by the associations and the natural persons
”, commented for his part Me Patrick Baudouin, lawyer for France in this trial.
“
It goes without saying that this whole period constituted a terrible abomination
”, but “
it is not before the judicial judge that this type of action should be carried out
”, added Me Baudouin.
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Raised as soon as the definitive abolition of slavery in 1848 in France, the question of financial compensation only materialized for the owners of slaves who were then compensated for the damage suffered.
Nothing was paid to the 250,000 slaves in France on the eve of the abolition decree, including nearly 90,000 in Guadeloupe, 75,000 in Martinique, 60,000 in Reunion and 12,000 in Guyana.
