Following the presentation of the Duclert report on Friday, March 26, France hopes to strengthen its diplomatic relations with Rwanda. An approach that is in line with Paris’ desire to rebuild France’s relations with the countries of the African continent. For Kigali, who received the report at the same time as the Élysée, it is an “important step towards a common understanding of France’s role in the genocide of the Tutsis”.
France bears “heavy and overwhelming responsibility” in the events leading up to the genocide in Rwanda 1994 and who left 800,000 dead according to the UN, without being a “accomplice” in the genocide. This is the main conclusion of the Duclert report submitted on Friday Emmanuel Macron. With this recognition of France’s role in Rwanda, the Élysée “hopes for new steps in relations between the two countries”.
Paris expects a lot from this report. Because even though relations with Kigali have relaxed since Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, France’s role in Rwanda has been an explosive subject for more than 25 years.
The head of state commissioned this report two years ago from a commission of experts tasked with studying all “French archives related to Rwanda and genocide of Tutsis Between 1990 and 1994, including those classified as defense secrets.
A source at the Elysee Palace indicates that it is now a matter of being able to move forward in the relationship between the two countries: “This time, we hope that the process of rapprochement with Rwanda can be initiated in an irreversible way,” he explains. we have in mind, soon the appointment of an ambassador in Kigali.
As a sign of goodwill, the report was also handed over to the Rwandan authorities when it was officially presented to Emmanuel Macron.
“We do not expect France to tell us what it has done, we know it”
The Rwandan Foreign Ministry, for its part, hailed in the process “an important step towards a common understanding of France’s role in the genocide of the Tutsis”.
But beyond Rwanda, Emmanuel Macron wants to send a signal to the entire continent. The Élysée speaks of another brick in the work of rebuilding France’s relations with Africa following the restoration of works of art and African heritage and the reformation of the CFA franc.
Rwanda does not intend to be satisfied with the version of the Duclert report. In a tweet published on Friday night shortly after the results of the commission by French historians were published online, the Kigali authorities mentioned the forthcoming publication of another report, Rwandan this time, on the subject, reports our correspondent in Kigali, Laure broulard.
According to the press release from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, this new investigation report will supplement and enrich the conclusions of the Duclert Commission. It was commissioned in 2017 by the Rwandan government and should be announced in the coming weeks.
Kigali had already published a report on the subject in 2008, the Mucyo report, which concluded that Paris had played an active role in the preparations and implementation of the genocide against the Tutsis. It is difficult to know more at this stage about the second investigation, which, however, should provide new elements, according to a source close to the government.
In any case, Kigali sees in the Duclert report an important step towards a common understanding of France’s role in the genocide. “We do not expect France to tell us what it has done, we know it,” added Jean Paul Kimonyo, a researcher and former adviser to Paul Kagame. He adds, however, that the effort of historical truth represented by the Duclert Commission is welcome.
