French Government Involvement

French troop detachment driving through an internally displaced persons camp, outside Butare in July 1994.

French Government Involvement

What did the global community of nations do about the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. Where was the United Nations? Most recently, French President Emmanuel Macron established a commission (2019-2021) to review France’s response to the genocide. It included researchers and historians. The panel of eight were given access to classified information, France’s intelligence agency, and the archives of former President François Mitterrand. This commission exposed France’s actions and provided insight into the activities of other nations during the genocide. France, while not directly involved in the genocide, still played a role in its development. After the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched the Rwandan Civil War, the French supplied weapons and training to its Hutu opponents, the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi militias. These militias later participated in the genocide. France also sent troops to Rwanda in June 1994, via Operation Turquoise. Reports prove that French troops, during that operation, allowed perpetrators flee into neighboring countries. There are also accounts of French troops permitting Radio Télévision des Mille Collines (see separate panel) to set up transmitters in Zone Turquoise, which broadcast genocidal orders. The French involvement with Rwanda should be an example of what not to do. Supplying entities with weapons to support a country’s goals is dangerous without adequately understanding the environment. It would seem that France disregarded the events in Rwanda and supported the Habyarimana administration to serve its own geopolitical priorities This is something that should be avoided. Not only can it lead to events such as genocide, but it also paints the members of the United Nations in a horrible image.

Quick Links

France’s Role In The 1994 Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Crisis Seen through the Eyes of France

Bibliography

Dahir, Abdi Latif. “France Enabled 1994 Rwanda Genocide, Report Says.” The New York Times, April 19, 2021.

Lal, Vinay. “Rwanda and the Desperation of France.” Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 42, no. 6 (2007): 480–81.

Meredith, Martin. The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence. Simon & Schuster UK Ltd., 2021.

Metz, Steven. “Disaster and Intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa: Learning from Rwanda.” Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, 1994.

“UNAMIR.” United Nations Website. Accessed October 25, 2023.

Photo Source

Zaourar, Hocine, AFP. Rwanda: French Soldiers. Getty Images. July 3, 1994.