Rwanda: President Paul Kagame in Paris to inaugurate a new memorial in tribute to the victims of the genocide

On Tuesday, June 2nd, the Rwandan head of state traveled to the French capital to inaugurate, alongside Emmanuel Macron, a double memorial to the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. This new gesture of remembrance from Paris towards Kigali aims to solidify the reconciliation between the two countries.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is expected in Paris on Tuesday, June 2, to inaugurate a new memorial in the French capital in homage to the victims of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsis in 1994. Located on the banks of the Seine, on the Habib-Bourguiba esplanade, it takes the form of a double stele, the work of the artist Grada Kilomba.

According to the Élysée Palace, the inauguration ceremony, which French President Emmanuel Macron will also attend, "continues the memorial and reconciliation process" initiated several years ago between the two countries.

Launched in particular in March 2021 by the report of historian Vincent Duclert whose conclusions pointed to the "overwhelming" responsibility of France during the genocide, this process continued in May of the same year, when the French head of state endorsed the direct recognition of this responsibility at the national memorial in Gisozi, Kigali.

A pivotal moment in the warming of Franco-Rwandan relations in recent years, the event was followed by several trips to Paris by President Paul Kagame. However, his visit this Tuesday is the first in the French capital dedicated to issues of historical memory in several years.