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Macron calls for probe into French role in Rwanda genocide

(Mainichi Japan)
The names of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge, many with the same surname indicating a family, are written on a memorial, outside a church in Ntarama, Rwanda on April 5, 2019. The memorial is dedicated to the thousands who were killed in and around the Catholic church during the 1994 genocide. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

PARIS (AP) -- French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered a government study into the country's role in Rwanda before and during its 1994 genocide.

    Macron met Friday with victims of the genocide, and a Rwandan group working to teach future generations about it.

    Rwanda is this weekend marking the 25th anniversary of the start of the ethnic slaughter of some 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis.

    Macron ordered a commission of researchers and historians to scour archives "to analyze the role and involvement of France" in Rwanda from 1990-1994. It is to produce conclusions within two years.

    Critics say France was too supportive of Rwanda's Hutu-led government whose supporters carried out the genocide, and that France turned a blind eye for too long.

    France denies complicity, but has launched several investigations in recent years.

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