Macron and Kagame unveil Paris memorial to victims of Rwanda genocide
French President Emmanuel Macron and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have inaugurated a memorial in Paris honouring the victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in a ceremony that underscored France’s continuing efforts to confront its historical role in the tragedy.
The monument, unveiled on Tuesday on the banks of the Seine River, pays tribute to the estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, who were killed between April and July 1994.
Macron described the memorial as “the culmination of a long and patient quest for truth”.
“In a world where empires sometimes have the temptation to falsify history, in this moment also where the past is a battlefield, telling the truth is more necessary than ever. This is the condition for peace,” he said.
Kagame says France has gone far in confronting history
Rwandan authorities have long accused the international community of failing to act despite warnings that mass killings were being prepared.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kagame said France had been in a unique position to observe and intervene, but had taken too long to acknowledge its role.
“France was in a unique position to observe and to act,” Kagame said. “It took too long for France to come to terms with its role, causing additional pain, and on some points we still have not found consensus.”
But he also praised France’s recent efforts to address the past.
“No country has gone as far as France in setting the record straight and accepting its part in the tragedy,” Kagame said.
‘The Archive’
The memorial, titled “The Archive”, was created by Berlin-based Portuguese artist Grada Kilomba.
It consists of two black brass steles and bears an engraved tribute to the victims and survivors of the genocide.
“Here, like an archive, rest the voices and words, the memories and experiences, the feelings and hopes of the victims and the survivors,” the inscription reads.
France’s reckoning with Rwanda
The genocide began after April 6, 1994, when the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu, was shot down.
The Tutsi minority was blamed for the attack, triggering a campaign of mass killing carried out by Hutu extremists with support from elements of the army, police and militias.
In 2021, Macron delivered a landmark speech in Kigali in which he acknowledged France’s failure to heed warnings of impending massacres.
The Paris memorial is part of France’s broader effort to recognise its responsibility and preserve the memory of one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.
