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Added on the 07/04/2021 22:47:28 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Rwandan President Paul Kagame welcomes a report concluding that France bears overwhelming responsibilities over the 1994 genocide in his country. A commission established by French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that France had "remained blind" to preparations for the mass killing of some 800,000 Rwandans, mainly from the ethnic Tutsi minority.
France’s role before and during the 1994 Rwandan genocide was a “monumental failure” that the country must acknowledge, the lead author of a report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron said, as the country opens its archives from this period to the public on Wednesday.
France has opened its archives from the period of Rwanda’s genocide as part of President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to more fully confront the French role in the genocide and to improve relations with Rwanda. FRANCE 24’s international affairs editor Douglas Herbert says the recent relationship between the two countries has been marked by mutual recrimination. Wednesday marked 27 years since the start of the 1994 genocide, which saw an estimated 800,000 people massacred in a period of around 100 days.
Historian Vincent Duclert is the head of the research commission on the French archives relating to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He recently handed over to President Emmanuel Macron a highly-awaited report on France's role in the massacres. Duclert explains that "there isn't a single archive... that showed that France wanted to be part of the criminal enterprise". But he adds that by supporting Rwanda's Hutu President Juvénal Habyarimana, François Mitterrand-era France bears an immense responsibility: "when you put such an ethnic colour on matters, you end up with a genocide".
Two former Rwandan mayors, Tito Barahira and Octavian Ngenzi, go on trial in France for their alleged participation in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. The suspects are accused of encouraging the massacre of several hundred Tutsis taking refuge in a church in Kabarondo in the east of the country on 13 April 1994.
Jusque-là, seules les discothèques et les épiceries de nuit devaient proposer des éthylotests à leurs clients. Cette obligation va bientôt s'étendre à tous les magasins qui vendent de l'alcool. Mais Julien Chivé, caviste bordelais, n'est pas vraiment convaincu. "Je trouve que ça ne sert pas à grand-chose. Les gens savent bien qu'après deux verres, il faut s'arrêter si on veut reprendre la voiture. Et les clients rencontrés ce jeudi matin ne voient pas non plus l'intérêt d'en acheter. "Ca me semble absurde", lance l'un d'eux. "De toute façon, après deux verres, on sera positif, donc c'est à chacun de se gérer", explique un autre.Dans l'épicerie de Virgine Matheron, à Talence (Gironde), il est difficile de trouver une place pour les éthylotests. La gérante doit enlever des produits et envisage surtout des coûts supplémentaires. En effet, dans le supermarché Carrefour City, qui en commercialise depuis un an, ces produits ne sont pas très populaires. "On en a vendu trois en un an", confie le gérant. Près de 50 000 commerçants devraient proposer des éthylotests à partir du 1er juillet, sous peine d'une amende de 675 euros.
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