Paris (AFP)

Hubert Védrine, who was the secretary general of the Elysee at the time of the Rwandan genocide, welcomed Thursday the fact that Emmanuel Macron rejects in Kigali any "complicity" of France, and admitted a "collective" responsibility in the drama.

The French president acknowledged Thursday in Kigali of France's "responsibilities" in the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, but he did not apologize and challenge any voluntary complicity.

"There is a collective responsibility in which France takes its part. (...) There is a responsibility of all those who have seen nothing, who have not understood since 1990 the enormous risk, of those who did not want after (the agreements signed in 1993 in) Arusha that there be an international force to consolidate the agreements obtained thanks to the presence of France, and those who took a long time at the time of the genocide , to give the agreement to the Security Council so that we can come back ", affirmed on Radio J the former secretary general of the Elysee Palace under the presidency of François Mitterrand, from May 1991 to May 1995.

For Mr. Védrine, Emmanuel Macron was "courageous in Kigali not to take up the most delusional accusations against France in recent years (of) complicity" and his speech in this regard was "fairly measured, fairly balanced".

"I'm not saying that I agree with every line but it's pretty good of him not to resume the escalation of attacks," he said.

Mr. Védrine also found "very courageous, on the part of the president, to have wished that the other protagonists open their archives".

"The normalization which is in progress, very well, there is nothing to complain about. But the historical truth will be established when we have everyone's archives," he argued.

"The historical work must continue, the report (by historians led by Vincent) Duclert is a step, the president's visit to Kigali is a step".

Hubert Védrine, who was later Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-2002), however refuted the hypothesis that Rwandan genocidaires could have been "protected" or evacuated to France.

In matters of forgiveness, he replied that he was "not asking for anything".

"I'm not asking for anything, I said what I had to say," he said.

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