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Man in his 80s becomes first in France to formally apologise for family's slavery links
He urged other French families and the state to confront slavery’s legacy and said reparations should follow beyond symbolic gestures.
- On Saturday, 86-year-old Pierre Guillon de Prince issued what is believed to be France's first formal apology for his family's role in transatlantic slavery, expressing hope that others would follow.
- Guillon's ancestors, based in Nantes, were shipowners who transported around 4,500 enslaved Africans and owned Caribbean plantations, while France trafficked an estimated 1.3 million people historically.
- Alongside Dieudonne Boutrin, a descendant of enslaved people from Martinique, Guillon inaugurated an 18-metre replica ship mast in Nantes, calling it a "beacon of humanity" to help in "breaking the silence."
- While calls for reparations grow, France has never formally apologized for its role in slavery, and last month abstained from a United Nations resolution declaring slavery the "gravest crime against humanity."
- "Faced with the rise of racism in our society, I felt a responsibility not to let this past be erased," Guillon said, adding he wants to pass this family history to his grandchildren.
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Leaning Left0Leaning Right3Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center, 50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center, 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
C 50%
R 50%
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