Rwanda report blames France for ‘enabling’ 1994 genocide

The names of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge are written on a memorial to the thousands who were killed in and around the Catholic church during the 1994 genocide in Ntarama, Rwanda (Ben Curtis/AP)

The French government bears “significant” responsibility for “enabling a foreseeable genocide”, a report commissioned by the Rwandan government has concluded about France’s role before and during the horror in which an estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered in 1994.

The report, which the Associated Press (AP) has read, comes amid efforts by Rwanda to document the role of French authorities before, during and after the genocide, part of the steps taken by France’s President Emmanuel Macron to improve relations with the central African country.