“Confronting historical responsibilities requires real courage, because it generates fierce opposition by those with a case to answer. You need a strong sense of humanity to see it through. President Macron, I want to commend you on both counts: courage and humanity. You acknowledged that France could have stopped the genocide, but did not. In response, I described your words as something more valuable than an apology: namely, the truth. This door was first opened by President Nicolas Sarkozy, and I wish to commend him today.
The Genocide against the Tutsi was foreseeable, and in fact foreseen, and France was in a unique position to observe and to act. 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. I fully understand the feelings of those survivors and advocates who remain dissatisfied with the official record. But I believe that our common work has initiated a journey towards truth, which is irreversible.
And France was not alone in falling short, far from it. Many other countries did so as well, but none has gone as far as France in setting the record straight and accepting its part in the tragedy.” President Kagame | Inauguration of Monument in Paris honouring the victims of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.