Cover image: Jardin Jacques Martial (circled in red) at Trocadéro
Ibex73, photographer
Source: Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA 4.0

A few years ago, President Emmanuel Macron agreed to the construction of a Paris memorial that will pay homage to the victims of slavery in France's former slave territories.

It will be a tribute to the 200,000+ “new free people” named after the abolition of slavery in 1848 in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Reunion, and Martinique. The names of these people will be respectfully presented and classified by territory and municipality to facilitate recognition by their descendants.

The memorial will be installed at the Jardins du Trocadéro.*  This site is replete with symbolism, given its proximity to

1) the Parvis des Libertés et des Droits de l'Homme at the Trocadéro esplanade, which commemorates the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot on December 10, 1948

and

2) the Musée de l'Homme in the Palais de Chaillot, which has become a site for educating the public about racism.

Parvis des Libertés et des Droits de l'Homme at Trocadéro
Photographer: Kollin
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: CC-BY-3.0

Palais du Chaillot - Musée de l'Homme
Photographer: Gzen92
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: CC-BY-SA 4.0

As of March 25, 2026, the site became even more symbolic regarding the installation of the memorial when Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo presided over a ceremony during which she named the western part of the gardens after Guadeloupean actor and former Deputy Mayor of Paris Jacques Martial (1955-2025). 

Martial was President of the committee for the Mémorial ACTe museum in Guadeloupe from 2015-2020 and served as Paris Councilor, delegate in charge of the Overseas Territories and then as Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Overseas Territories.  Deeply involved in preserving the memory of slavery and the history of these territories, he supported several initiatives aimed at increasing their visibility in Parisian public spaces, including the Solitude statue, the Toussaint-Louverture Square, and celebrations highlighting the territories during the 2024 Olympic Games.

The National Memorial to the Victims of Slavery is scheduled to open in 2027.

While its budget of €4.8 million is being entirely funded by the French government, a fundraising campaign is being conducted by the Fondation Esclavage et Réconciliation (Slavery and Reconcilation Foundation) to support enhancements such as scenographic lighting, sound benches, and improvements to the Swiss River. These additions require an additional budget of €1.5 million.

To read more about the campaign, click HERE (Website is in French).

*The National Memorial to the Victims of Slavery was originally to have been installed at the Tuileries Garden.  African-American artist Steve Locke responded to a call to artists to design the memorial at that site. Read about his concept HERE.