Baku initiative group forced France to answer uncomfortable questions

At one time, there were many discussions about what the Baku Initiative Group (BIH) is for. There were quite a few who looked down on Baku, believing that it was involved in a matter that it could not handle.

However, time has shown that they simply did not know what they were talking about. More precisely, about whom. They didn't know that Baku never starts a business unless it thinks through every move in advance and sees the ultimate goal. He will never brag about what he does not have, and will not allow himself to be drawn into games that have no prospects. Similarly, BIH was created not to spite anyone, but as a well-thought-out strategic project. Today, the Baku Initiative Group has indeed become a noticeable foreign policy irritant for France, which actively intervened in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and did not expect to find itself in a vulnerable position.

BIH's activities have already produced tangible results in the international arena, prompting the intensification of the anti-colonial movement, which died out many years ago. BIH systematically supports independence movements in countries suffering from neocolonialism. Today, people in France no longer grin when they hear about the events held by the Baku Initiative Group. The giggling stopped in India, too, after BIH supported the Sikh movement.

By the way, on June 3, the International Federation of Sikhs and the Baku Initiative Group signed a Memorandum defining the foundations of cooperation in the academic field. Abbas Abbasov, executive director of the Baku Initiative Group, told reporters that the protection of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities should be supported not only in political and economic spheres, but also in scientific, educational and academic spheres.

It should be recalled that in January 2026, at the initiative of the Baku Initiative Group, the international conference "Racism and Violence against Sikhs and Other National Minorities in India: Existing Realities" was held for the first time. The very fact of holding such a forum outside of India has become a landmark. It was not about a local discussion, but about the intention to bring the problem of systemic discrimination and violence against ethnic and religious minorities to the international level. And it was done.

As for France, after almost three years (BIH was created in 2023) of ridicule and threats, it has changed its frivolous attitude towards Baku's initiative. BIH has made the voice of the peoples who continue to remain under the French protectorate heard on the international stage. In early May, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a warning to France in connection with the right of Kanaks to self-determination in Kanaki (New Caledonia) and attempts to change the electoral corps. Thanks to BIG, the Kanak problem has ceased to be an "internal matter" of France.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that BIH's activities have shaken up sanity in France itself. The country, which continues to consider itself the owner of overseas territories even after the abolition of colonialism and slavery, has moved to rethink its unpleasant past. Of course, one cannot say that Paris is acting on the orders of the Baku Initiative Group. But the pressure that has been exerted on the French side for several years could not fail to produce results. Because BIH acts professionally and regardless of authority. Baku has shown that it is not afraid of the authority of the leading EU country and will tell the truth to its face and deliver it from all the stands. And the most unpleasant surprise for Paris was that the peoples of the former colonies saw in Azerbaijan a real force capable of making the world remember their problems.

Last week, Paris took a very important step. The National Assembly of the country voted for a bill abolishing the "Code noir", a decree signed in 1685 by King Louis XIV and regulating the life of slaves in all French colonies. It was a revelation to many to learn that a similar code continued to exist in a country that abolished slavery 170 years ago and recognized it as a "crime against humanity" in 2001. This means that laws continued to operate in the country behind the scenes, classifying people in the so-called overseas territories as "movable property." It is unclear why the Code was not repealed back in 2001. We no longer ask why it was not abolished in parallel with the abolition of slavery. If we assume that the Louisianate document automatically lost its validity 170 years ago, then it is unclear why on May 28 the National Assembly passed a bill to repeal it.

The preservation of the "Black Code" was a disgrace that few people knew about. It seems that even for the majority of the French, the events of the end of May 2026 were a revelation. It turns out that the Baku Initiative Group was not biased (as the French side claimed) when it accused Paris of neo-colonial politics. The existence of a legal basis for French neocolonialism affected the attitude towards the controlled territories and peoples of the former French colonies.

But it's too early to talk about the final abolition of the misogynistic code. The fact is that after the vote in the National Assembly, the bill was sent to the Senate. The "Black Code" can be considered abolished only after the approval of the law by this instance. It is doubtful that the Senate will not confirm the repeal of the code. What will the senators look like in the eyes of French society if they refuse to put an end to national shame?

As you can learn from the Euronews publication about Paris' historic move, France was the third largest slave-owning power in Europe after Great Britain and Portugal: from the 17th to the 19th century, it sent about 1.4 million Africans to plantations, whose wealth, based on sugar production, allowed the French cities of Nantes and Bordeaux to be built. Later, her empire spread over four continents.

Max Matthiasen, a deputy from Guadeloupe, a former French colony that has become an overseas territory, pointed out that the "Black Code" institutionalized the denial of humanity to women, men and children enslaved because of their origin and skin color. "I am the great-grandson of slaves and I have never been able to finish reading this text. This is a law created by people against people," Euronews quotes.

Despite formal integration into France, its overseas regions still remain poor territories. Representatives of the Overseas Territories are wondering: why is this code being repealed only now? Did the government not know about him too, like many French people?

President Emmanuel Macron is for abolition with both hands. He decided to mark the upcoming end of his presidency with a positive note. "The sixty articles of the Black Code should not have survived the abolition of slavery in the 19th century," he said. The French leader reasonably called the preservation of the code not forgetfulness, but an insult.

Well said. However, there are still "buts".

On March 26, the UN General Assembly, at the initiative of Ghana, adopted a resolution on the transatlantic slave trade. The resolution, adopted by 123 votes in favor with 3 votes against and 51 abstentions, officially recognized trafficking in enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

France abstained from voting...