from Paris, France
“We did not understand that genocide could not withstand half measures”, declared Alain Juppé, referring to the Duclert Commission report, which was made responsible for investigating the archives to determine France’s role in the genocide. The above-mentioned former French foreign minister, also admitted that French authorities lacked “understanding” of events that called for immediate action. Nowadays France’s role in the 1994 Genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda is a source of controversy and debate both in France and Rwanda.
What happened in Rwanda is one of the most horrible crimes of recent history. Indeed, this crime against humanity took place from 7 April 1994 until 17 July 1994 but is part of a number of Hutu’s repressions against Tutsi, such as the refusal of the Rwandan State to re-integrate the exiled Tutsi from the civil war of 1990-1993 (Le Monde, 1994). The genocide of the Tutsi was ignited by the assassination of the Rwandan President, Habyarimana, which rose the ethnics tensions that were stewing for decades.
The UN estimates that around 800,000 Rwandans in which a large majority of Tutsi were killed during the genocide. To be precise, this genocide is infamous for its ratio of death per pay, the highest ever as far as we know.
Yet, some would say that this tragedy might have been avoided, if the French government may have done a greater job. Worth, the French government was even accused of active collaboration in the genocide, by the Tutsi, whereas France has always denied any form of complicity. Moreover, the 2021 Duclert report exonerates France from the charge of complicity in the genocide in Rwanda. Yet the full details of its role are still questioned.
France drew closer as soon as Rwanda’s independence
It is widely known that France always had an interest in getting close to African countries after their independence. Indeed, it maintained a strong military presence and major political influence on several countries (A. Hansen, 2008), like Burundi or the Ivory Coast. These ties were linked to diplomatic, economic, and even cultural interests, driven by the aim of getting more influence in the UN, having access to strategic materials. So, it is not surprising that France had civil cooperation agreements signed with Rwanda in 1962 (Assemblée Nationale, 1998).
Military cooperation began soon after the first agreements and dates back to 1975, with an armed assistance agreement, still under the heading of cooperation. In short, this was made in order to organize and instruct the “Rwandan Gendarmerie”. However, this agreement excluded French military instructors from taking part in operations of war or even of restoration of order (Assemblée Nationale, 1998).
France’s policy in Rwanda was not different than the ones pursued in many African countries: cooperation for development, supporting the regime, contributing to the country’s security and stability. But the military agreement was soon amended, and in 1983, the prohibition on participation in war or law enforcement operations was over (B. Collombat, D. Servenay, 2014). This amendment is the reason why France could have such influence during the 1990-1994 civil war. Moreover, In 1992, during the civil war against the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the military assistance agreement extended to the entire Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR). In short, this opens up the possibility for France to act militarily alongside the Rwandan military without necessarily informing the French parliament (B. Collombat, D. Servenay, 2014).
The most debated question of France’s History?
France is suspected of having continued its military support for the Tuti’s genocide of 1994. What is striking is that the French government has so far denied any responsibility, while keeping recognizing more and more concession of their role throughout the years.
In November 2007, the French government recognized that “political mistakes” could have been made, and that they might have had been able to prevent the genocide. The possibility of clarifying France’s role was made achievable thanks to several independent reports, and the report of the parliamentary fact-finding mission on Rwanda and academic research. There were a number of reports and researches conducted since 1994.
The most important step taken was carried out by François Graner, who launched a legal battle to have access to the documents at the National Archives on France’s policy in Rwanda during the civil war (Le Monde, 2020). Indeed, he could not have access to them because some of them were classified “top secret”, even if a decision was taken in 2015 to declassified the documents linked to the Rwandan civil war. After getting access to the archives thanks to a decision of the French Council of State, Graner stated that « The documents reinforce the results of the work done over the last 20 years. The further we go, the more damning the picture is” (P. Lepidi, P. Smolar, 2021).
Rapidly after the decision of the Council of State, French President Emmanuel Macron asked a commission of historians to dig into every document related to the 1990-1994 period in the hope to make a closure of the case. The Duclert Commission submitted its final report in March 2021, concluding that the French authorities had heavy responsibilities, and in particular that of President François Mitterrand.
This could be a detail, but these disclosures truly damaged the image of the ex-President François Mitterand, one of the most important figures of the V Republic in France. By doing so, Emmanuel Macron is also revealing a new aspect of his mandate, addressing issues like the role of France on Rwanda’s territory, and moreover of its importance in Africa as a whole.
France: a failed duty to prevent
Documents from the archives show that the French authorities were regularly informed in the years 1990 to 1994 of the risks of large-scale massacres of Tutsis (Assemblée Nationale, 1998). This is one of the conclusions of the Duclert’s Commission.
For instance, a telegram of 24 October 1990 from the French Ambassador to Rwanda, alerted that the re-establishment of the Tutsi power in the north-east of the country would likely lead to “the physical elimination” within the country of the Tutsis, 500,000 to 700,000 people, by the Hutus (Assemblée Nationale, 1998). Another example is that France failed at protecting the Tutsis because even in southwestern Rwanda where France established a safe humanitarian zone for refugees, the massacres of Tutsis continued.
Thus, France had great responsibilities in the genocide, as described in the 1998 commission report: “France has thus maintained its presence and developed its military cooperation among ethnic tensions, massacres, and violence as if acclimatization in the face of a situation whose seriousness it has underestimated” (Assemblée Nationale, 1998).
Facts may be clear, but universal recognition lacked
With the conclusions of the Duclert Commission report, it is proven that France has heavy responsibilities in the genocide in Rwanda. However, some French politicians still refuse to acknowledge any form of responsibility. Thus, there are tensions between France and Rwanda, but also inside the French society.
For instance, in an interview, former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur says that he “does not agree at all” with the conclusions of the report of the commission of historians on France’s role in the genocide in Rwanda (A. Perelman, 2021). According to him, it is unacceptable that France is the only country accused, while neither other countries, nor the UN had intervened to prevent the massacres. Other politicians share the same view, and this is one reason why controversies keep living on.
Moreover, the report exonerates France from any form of complicity, which is also a debate in itself. Indeed, even if the Rwandan government welcomes the report’s conclusions, the Rwandan authorities still want France to officially acknowledge responsibility for the events of 1994, even beyond the Duclert Commission’s report (J.M. Four, F. Ballanger, 2021).
The final step for the recognition?
There was a serious lack of recognition of the Rwandan genocide from the French government and in French history. This dismissal has been strongly denounced throughout the years. However, with the Commission ordered by Emmanuel Macron, we are witnessing a landmark towards the acceptance of France’s role.
Indeed, in his letter to the commission, the French President declared “I hope that this 25th anniversary will mark a real break in the way France apprehends and teaches the genocide of the Tutsi”. He affirms wanting to spread a better understanding of the pain of victims and the aspirations of survivors. While France has remained blind to the genocidal drift of the Rwandan regime (AFP, 2021), the Duclert report sharply contrasts with its with the light it sheds on the events.
Therefore, with Macron’s initiative, a significant step was taken. According to the commitment he made on May 24, 2018, during his meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the massacres of the Tutsi will take their place in the French collective memory (Macron, 2019). The French government also made clear that “France, where many people suspected of having taken part in the genocide have found refuge, will “continue its efforts” against“impunity” of those responsible for crimes of genocide” (AFP, 2021).
For Rwanda, this is an important step towards ending French denial, but it is not enough, and Paul Kagame underlines the persistence of multiple shadowy areas. What is more, is the abstractiveness of the legal definition of “complicity to genocide” (J.M. Four, F. Ballanger, 2021). For many Rwandan officials, it is not necessary to have shared the genocidal intent of the Hutu extremists to be an accomplice (J.M. Four, F. Ballanger, 2021). And so they see France as an accomplice. In addition, Kagame’s government will publish its own report, ordered in 2017, that will complement the French one (Courrier international Paris, 2021).
However, it could mark a turning point in the relationship between the two countries that are more than sensitive. “We hope that this report will lead to further developments in our relationship with Rwanda” and that “this time the process of rapprochement can be irreversibly initiated”, declared French President Macron, laying down not a final step, but a real milestone in history.
References (A-F)
AFP, La France a des « responsabilités lourdes » dans le génocide au Rwanda, 2021. Available at: https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/la-france-a-des-responsabilites-lourdes-dans-le-genocide-au-rwanda-26-03-2021-2419586_23.php
Assemblée Nationale, Rapport d’information par la mission d’information de la Commission de la Défense Nationale et des forces armées et de la Commission des Affaires étrangères, sur les opérations militaires menées par la France, d’autres pays et l’ONU au Rwanda entre 1990 et 1994. Available at: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dossiers/rwanda/r1271.asp#P933_60303
Collombat, B., Servenay, D., Au nom de la France, guerres secrètes au Rwanda, La découverte, 2014.
Courrier International Paris, Responsabilité. La France “fautive” mais pas “complice” du génocide au Rwanda, 2021. Available at: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/responsabilite-la-france-fautive-mais-pas-complice-du-genocide-au-rwanda
Duclert Commission report, 2021. Available at: https://www.vie-publique.fr/sites/default/files/rapport/pdf/279186_0.pdf
Four, J.M., Ballanger, F., Le regard du pouvoir rwandais sur la France et le génocide de 1994, France Culture, 2021. Available at:https://www.franceculture.fr/politique/le-regard-du-pouvoir-rwandais-sur-la-france-et-le-genocide-de-1994
France 24, Génocide au Rwanda : un rapport d’historiens pointe les “responsabilités accablantes” de la France, 2021. Available at: https://www.france24.com/fr/info-en-continu/20210326-génocide-des-tutsi-du-rwanda-la-france-a-des-responsabilités-accablantes-selon-un-rapport-de-chercheurs-français
References (G-Z)
Hansen, A., “The French Military in Africa”, Council on Foreign Relations, 2008
Le Monde, Le Conseil d’Etat autorise la consultation des archives de Mitterrand sur le Rwanda, 2020. Available at:https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/06/12/le-conseil-d-etat-autorise-la-consultation-des-archives-de-mitterrand-sur-le-rwanda_6042667_3212.html
Le Monde Newspaper, “L’extermination des Tutsis, le massacres du Ruanda sont la manifestation d’une haine raciale soigneusement entretenue”. 4 February 1994
Lepidi, P., Smolar P., François Graner : « Plus on avance, et plus le tableau est accablant » pour la France au Rwanda, 2021. Available at:https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2021/01/16/francois-graner-plus-on-avance-et-plus-le-tableau-est-accablant-pour-la-france-au-rwanda_6066516_3212.html
Lettre du Président de la République adressée, le 5 avril 2019, à M. Vincent Duclert. Available at: https://www.vie-publique.fr/sites/default/files/rapport/pdf/279186_0.pdf
Perelman, A., Édouard Balladur : “La France n’a pas à s’excuser pour le génocide au Rwanda”, France 24, 2021. Available at: https://www.france24.com/fr/émissions/l-entretien/20210414-édouard-balladur-la-france-n-a-pas-à-s-excuser-pour-le-génocide-au-rwanda
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Autore dell’articolo*: Juline Lefevre-Lancelot, studentessa di Political Science, Law, Economics and Interntional Relations at Sciences Po Lille. Come sempre pubblichiamo i nostri lavori per stimolare altre riflessioni, che possano portare ad integrazioni e approfondimenti.
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