French President Emmanuel Macron and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Tuesday inaugurated a memorial in Paris honouring the victims of the 1994 genocide. Unveiling the installation on the banks of the Seine, Macron said the monument marked "the culmination of a long and patient quest for truth" in confronting France's failure to heed warnings of the impending massacres more than 30 years ago.
Issued on: 02/06/2026
By: FRANCE 24
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurate a monument in Paris honouring the victims of the Rwandan genocide on June 2, 2026.
© Sarah Meyssonnier, AFP
03:34
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hailed France's "unprecedented" rapprochement with Rwanda as he unveiled a monument to victims of the east African country's 1994 genocide in the presence of Rwandan leader Paul Kagame.
The monument on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris is part of France's efforts to acknowledge its role in one of the 20th century's worst atrocities.
"An unprecedented reconciliation has emerged between Rwanda and France," said Macron, adding that the memorial was "the culmination of a long and patient quest for truth".
"This monument, while it is an achievement, is not an end. It is a milestone on a path we have opened," he added.
In a historic speech in Kigali in 2021, Macron acknowledged France's failure to heed warnings of impending massacres in Rwanda.
Macron has said Paris and its Western and African allies did not have the will to halt the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered, mostly ethnic Tutsis.
But he has stopped short of issuing a formal apology.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kagame hailed France's efforts to assume its share of responsibility, and praised Macron for his "courage and humanity".
"France was not alone in falling short, far from it," said Kagame, who had long accused France of "complicity".
"Many other countries did so as well, but none has gone as far as France in setting the record straight and accepting its part in the tragedy.
"Confronting historical responsibilities requires real courage because it generates a fierce opposition by those with a case to answer," he said.
The monument, dubbed "L'Archive" (The Archive), is designed by Grada Kilomba, a Berlin-based Portuguese artist.
It consists of two black brass steles and bears an engraved tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children massacred between April and July 1994.
"Here, like an archive, rest the voices and words, the memories and experiences, the feelings and hopes of the victims and the survivors," it reads.
03:34
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hailed France's "unprecedented" rapprochement with Rwanda as he unveiled a monument to victims of the east African country's 1994 genocide in the presence of Rwandan leader Paul Kagame.
The monument on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris is part of France's efforts to acknowledge its role in one of the 20th century's worst atrocities.
"An unprecedented reconciliation has emerged between Rwanda and France," said Macron, adding that the memorial was "the culmination of a long and patient quest for truth".
"This monument, while it is an achievement, is not an end. It is a milestone on a path we have opened," he added.
In a historic speech in Kigali in 2021, Macron acknowledged France's failure to heed warnings of impending massacres in Rwanda.
Macron has said Paris and its Western and African allies did not have the will to halt the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered, mostly ethnic Tutsis.
But he has stopped short of issuing a formal apology.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kagame hailed France's efforts to assume its share of responsibility, and praised Macron for his "courage and humanity".
"France was not alone in falling short, far from it," said Kagame, who had long accused France of "complicity".
"Many other countries did so as well, but none has gone as far as France in setting the record straight and accepting its part in the tragedy.
"Confronting historical responsibilities requires real courage because it generates a fierce opposition by those with a case to answer," he said.
The monument, dubbed "L'Archive" (The Archive), is designed by Grada Kilomba, a Berlin-based Portuguese artist.
It consists of two black brass steles and bears an engraved tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children massacred between April and July 1994.
"Here, like an archive, rest the voices and words, the memories and experiences, the feelings and hopes of the victims and the survivors," it reads.
© France 24
05:45
05:45
'Abandonment'
A survivor, speaking in a trembling voice, recounted the days of April 1994, when her family was massacred. She herself narrowly escaped and was evacuated to France, seriously injured, at the age of 16.
Jeanne Uwimbabazi spoke of the "abandonment" by UN peacekeepers, saying they had left behind terrified Tutsi sheltering in a school surrounded by ethnic Hutu militias, even though "their mere presence would have been enough to protect us".
Franco-Rwandan musician and writer Gael Faye, speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, said: "We must strengthen this work of remembrance, because we never know who might come to power or how official narratives might change."
The assassination of Rwanda's Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, when his plane was shot down over Kigali, triggered a rampage by Hutu extremists.
At the time, France had been a long-standing backer of Rwanda's Hutu-dominated government, leading to decades of tensions between the two countries, including a break in diplomatic ties between 2006 and 2009.
A commission set up by Macron and led by historian Vincent Duclert concluded in 2021 that there had been a "failure" on the part of France under president François Mitterrand, while adding there was no evidence Paris was complicit in the killings.
Duclert said the unveiling of the monument was a "powerful" step.
"The genocide against the Tutsi is now fully part of France's public history," he said.
The French courts, acting on the principle of universal jurisdiction to try the most serious crimes committed worldwide, have convicted several Rwandans for their part in the massacre.
In May, France's judiciary ordered the resumption of an almost two-decade investigation into accusations that Habyarimana's widow, who has lived in France since 1998, was involved in the genocide.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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