France “could have stopped the genocide” in Rwanda: confusion around Emmanuel Macron’s message
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron joined the commemorations of the thirty years of the Tutsi genocide with a press release released on April 7. The content of the message is largely reminiscent of the speech given in Kigali by the French head of state on May 27, 2021. The French presidential intervention insists on the need to “
look the past in the face
” but does not include any mention of the quote sent by the Élysée last Thursday April 4 to the press, which indicated “
that France could have stopped the genocide with its Western and African allies, but did not have the will
”.
French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Kigali on May 27, 2024. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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This Sunday, April 7, Emmanuel Macron
's message
moves away from the prior message transmitted by the Élysée three days ago. “
The past had to be named, the past must continue to be analyzed, studied by
[the]
historians in the best conditions
,” asserts the head of state.
The French president “
said everything
” on May 27, 2021 during his trip to Kigali, where he declared “
recognizing
” the “
responsibilities
” of France, in the abandonment of “
hundreds of thousands of victims
”.
In a video broadcast to UNESCO during a ceremony in the presence of the Rwandan ambassador in Paris, the Head of State reaffirmed this Sunday France's desire to “
continue to move forward together, hand in hand
” , with Rwanda, “
with a desire for hope, which can only be built when the past is looked in the face and accepted
”.
Message very different from that transmitted by the Élysée on Thursday
We are still very far from the preliminary message sent by the Élysée to the press last Thursday, which stated that
“
France could have stopped the genocide
with its Western and African allies, but did not have the will
” . She had the means to do so because of “
her knowledge of the genocides revealed to us by the survivors of the Armenians and the Shoah
”.
Strong words, which marked a further step in the recognition of France's responsibilities, which Emmanuel Macron ultimately did not use.
Is it a backpedal that doesn't say its name, or a communication error? It's difficult to understand at this time what really happened. At the Élysée, we speak of “
overinterpretation
” by the media of the elements sent to the press and we recognize that “
we may have made ourselves misunderstood
”.
Read alsoRwanda: “If France had been convinced of the risks of genocide, it could have persuaded Habyarimana to reverse course”
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