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CPython doesn't have any reservations about breaking the Python API between minor versions, so why care about the C API? I get where you're coming from, but they've already shown they don't care much for compatibility, so I don't see why that's a big obstacle.

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Removing the GIL (in a non-braindead way) likely entails breaking all existing code using the C API. PyPy could do so without breaking cpyext, by maintaining the illusion of a GIL whenever control passes to cpyext.

Does it lock the GIL so numpy can release it again immediately afterwards?

Perhaps it makes the unlock call a no-op before numpy tries to unlock it.

That makes sense, I hadn't thought about the extent of the breakage.

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