A French court has ruled that the name of a historic district in Biarritz must be changed due to its colonial-era associations. The Bordeaux Appeals Court upheld a lawsuit brought by activists calling for the renaming of La-Negresse, arguing that the name carries offensive racial connotations.
The French association Memoires et Partages (“Memories and Sharing”), which campaigns against the legacy of slavery and colonialism, first requested the name change in 2020. They targeted both the district and Rue de la-Negresse, as historical accounts suggest the name may have originated from a Black woman, possibly an enslaved person, who lived in the city in the 19th century.
Activists contend that the name is linked to “a crime against humanity, which resulted in millions of Africans being deported to work as slaves on colonial plantations.”
After Biarritz town hall refused to act, the activists pursued legal action. Their case was initially dismissed by a court in Pau in 2023, but the appeals court ruled in their favor.
Citing historians, the court stated that, regardless of the name’s origins, “the term ‘La-Negresse’ today dishonorably recalls the racial origin of a woman whose identity has never been officially established.”
The term derives from the French word nègre, which is now considered unacceptable when referring to Black people. France officially recognized the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity in 2001.
