A reason to like the French

From the BBC we learn:

France is holding Europe's first national day of remembrance for the victims of slavery.

[...]

But the president [Jacques Chirac] says he is not just looking to the past. He has promised to fight modern forms of slavery, allowing companies that knowingly use forced labour anywhere in the world to be prosecuted in French courts.

Cities across France will hold ceremonies and activities to mark the day. The city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast, where many of France's slave ships originated, will hold a moment of silence.

The French, as demonstrated by recent unrest in immigrant neighborhoods, have yet to fulfill their self-proclaimed destiny as an egalitarian society. However, it's hard to imagine a measure such as France's day of remembrance making its way into the American culture, n'est-ce pas?