France bears ‘overwhelming responsibilities’ over Rwanda genocide

Report concludes there was ‘failure’ on the part of France over the genocide that saw about 800,000 people slaughtered.

France bears “overwhelming responsibilities” over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and was “blind” to preparations for the massacres, a report by historians said on Friday but added there was no evidence Paris was complicit in the killings. A historical commission set up by President Emmanuel Macron concluded there had been a “failure” on the part of France under former leader Francois Mitterrand over the genocide that saw about 800,000 people slaughtered, mainly from the ethnic Tutsi minority. Historian Vincent Duclert, who headed the commission, handed over the damning report to Macron at the Elysee Palace after years of accusations that France did not do enough to halt the killings and was even complicit in the crimes.