PARIS, June 2 – The French President and Rwanda’s leader joined together on Tuesday to dedicate a new memorial in Paris honoring those killed in the 1994 genocide targeting Tutsis in Rwanda.
The French President stated the memorial positions the Tutsi genocide “at the heart of our capital and our history,” describing it as “the culmination of a long and painstaking quest for the truth.”
During a May 2021 trip to Rwanda, the French President acknowledged his nation’s role in the Rwandan genocide and expressed hope for forgiveness, attempting to repair relations following years of Rwandan claims that France played a role in the 1994 massacre of approximately 800,000 people — primarily ethnic Tutsis. He did not, however, offer a formal apology.
This followed findings from a commission appointed by the French President that determined in March 2021 that France had been blinded by colonial perspectives regarding events preceding the genocide and carried “serious and overwhelming” responsibility for not anticipating the massacre.
The memorial, located along the Seine river in central Paris, is called “L’Archive.” Portuguese artist Grada Kilomba created the design, which features two black monuments and includes an engraved dedication to the hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children killed between April and July 1994.
