PARIS (AP) — The lead author of a report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron said France’s role before and during the 1994 Rwandan genocide was a “monumental failure” that the country must acknowledge. His remarks come just days before France will open its archives from the period to the public. Macron’s decision to commission the report and open the archives are part of his efforts to more fully confront the French role in the genocide and to improve relations with Rwanda. While long overdue, the moves may finally help the two countries reconcile. The report concluded that French authorities remained blind to the preparations for genocide as they supported the government of then-Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. But it cleared them of complicity in the slaughter.
