How France and Rwanda managed to calm their relations
Rwandan President Paul Kagame (3rd from the left) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (4th from the left) during the VivaTech trade fair in Paris, May 24, 2018. AP - Michel Euler
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Emmanuel Macron's visit to Rwanda this Thursday, May 27, is presented by the Élysée as the final step in the “normalization” of relations between Paris and Kigali, initiated in recent years.
Relations poisoned by the thorny question of the role played by France during the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994, which several heads of state tried in the past to appease.
Without much success until recently.
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Among Emmanuel Macron's predecessors, only one French head of state made the trip to Kigali: Nicolas Sarkozy, in 2010. Four years earlier, while Jacques Chirac was still President of the French Republic, Paul Kagame had broken up his diplomatic relations with Paris to protest against the investigation by Judge Bruguière, which implicated several of his relatives in
the attack on President Juvénal Habyarimana's plane
, which occurred on April 6, 1994.
An ephemeral embellished under Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
, who succeeded Jacques Chirac in 2007, wanted to turn this page.
At a press conference in Kigali on February 25, 2010, he acknowledged "
political errors
" and a "
form of blindness of France
" in Rwanda.
In the process, Paul Kagame was received in Paris.
But the improvement was short-lived.
In 2014, on the eve of the commemoration of the 20 years of the genocide, Paul Kagame once again shoots red balls.
In an interview, the Rwandan president castigates the “
direct role of France
in the preparation of the genocide
” and even “
its participation
” in its “
execution
”.
Consequence: Paris cancels the participation of its Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, in the commemorations.
A rapprochement resumed with Emmanuel Macron
Upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in 2017, Emmanuel Macron relaunched the work of rapprochement between the two countries and proceeded in small steps.
After a first interview in September 2017, he invited Paul Kagame to Paris eight months later, to a show dedicated to new technologies.
The French president then tries to initiate a rapprochement with his Rwandan counterpart on subjects of common interest: new technologies therefore, but also the environment, gender equality ...
At the same time, France supports the initiatives taken by Paul Kagame as current president of the African Union.
The warming is such that Paris supports, in October 2018, the candidacy of Louise Mushikiwabo, then Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the head of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF).
► To read also: Rwanda: in Kigali, the words of French President Emmanuel Macron are eagerly awaited
The importance of the Duclert commission
Six months later, a new step: Emmanuel Macron announces, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the genocide of the Tutsis, a strengthening of judicial and police resources to prosecute suspected genocidaires in France. Above all, it formalizes the
creation of a commission of historians
responsible for shedding light on the role of France during the genocide.
This Duclert commission concluded, two years later, with heavy and overwhelming responsibilities for Paris.
In the meantime, a new charge d'affaires with a very political profile has been appointed to the French Embassy.
And the French Development Agency has relaunched its action in Rwanda, a sign of the beginning of normalization of relations between the two countries.
This long-term work could reach its climax during Emmanuel Macron's speech this Thursday at the Gisozi genocide memorial.
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Rwanda
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Emmanuel Macron
Paul Kagame
Nicolas sarkozy
On the same subject
For Paul Kagame, the Duclert report is "one more step towards a common understanding"
Rwanda: in Kigali, the words of French President Emmanuel Macron are eagerly awaited