Pierre Guillon de Prince formally apologized for his family’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. (Stephane Mahe/Reuters/File)
An 86-year-old Frenchman whose ancestors transported thousands of enslaved Africans and operated Caribbean plantations has become what is believed to be the first person in France to formally apologise for his family’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade — and he is calling on others, including the French government, to do the same.
Pierre Guillon de Prince made the landmark declaration at a gathering in Nantes, the city that served as France’s most significant port in the transatlantic slave trade. Standing alongside Dieudonné Boutrin, a 61-year-old descendant of enslaved people from the Caribbean island of Martinique, he addressed an audience assembled for the inauguration of an 18-metre replica ship mast — a structure the two men described as a “beacon of humanity.”
The pair are co-members of Coque Nomade-Fraternité, an association committed to “breaking the silence” around the history of slavery. Boutrin praised the gesture as both rare and significant. “Many families of descendants of slave traders don’t dare speak out for fear of reopening old wounds and anger,” he said. “Pierre’s apology is a courageous act.”
Guillon de Prince’s ancestors were Nantes-based shipowners whose vessels transported approximately 4,500 enslaved Africans, while the family also owned plantations across the Caribbean. For him, confronting that legacy was a moral imperative, particularly in the current climate. “Faced with the rise of racism in our society, I felt a responsibility not to let this past be erased,” he said, adding that he also wanted to pass the full weight of that family history on to his grandchildren.
His apology forms part of a broader and slowly growing movement. Similar formal apologies — which typically include commitments to help address the harm caused by ancestors — have been issued by certain families in Britain and other European countries in recent years. Yet in France, such public reckonings remain exceptionally rare.
The historical scale of what those families are grappling with is immense. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and forcibly transported across the Atlantic, predominantly aboard European vessels. France alone was responsible for trafficking an estimated 1.3 million of those people.
France officially recognised transatlantic slavery as a crime against humanity in 2001, yet it has never issued a formal state apology — a position shared by most European nations. President Emmanuel Macron has, during his time in office, widened access to archives relating to France’s colonial past and announced last year that a commission would be established to examine the country’s complex history with Haiti, though he stopped short of mentioning reparations.
Guillon de Prince argued the government must move beyond symbolic gestures and engage seriously with the question of restitution. His call comes as global pressure for reparations intensifies, encompassing demands that range from official state apologies to direct financial compensation. That push faces resistance from critics who contend that contemporary states and institutions cannot be held accountable for crimes committed by previous generations.
France’s ambivalence on the issue was further illustrated last month, when it abstained at the United Nations on an Africa-led resolution that sought to declare slavery “the gravest crime against humanity” and called on nations to consider reparations.
By: Andrews Kwesu Yeboah