Role of France in the Rwandan genocide Role of France in the Rwandan genocide The role of France in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has been a source of controversy and debate both within and beyond France and Rwanda. France actively supported the Hutu-led government of Juvénal Habyarimana against the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front, which since 1990 had been engaged in a conflict intended to restore the rights of Rwandan Tutsis both within Rwanda and exiled in neighboring countries following over four decades of anti-Tutsi violence. France provided arms and military training to Habyarimana's youth militias, the "Interahamwe" and "Impuzamugambi", which were among the government's primary means
Initial events of the Rwandan genocide who were moderates or Tutsi friendly. The fighting which began late on the evening of April 6 did not end for another hundred days, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, missing, and displaced. (See: Rwandan_Genocide#Genocide) Initial events of the Rwandan genocide The assassination of presidents Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira in the evening of April 6, 1994 was the proximate trigger for the Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the murder of approximately 800,000 Tutsi and a smaller number of moderate Hutu. The first few days following the assassinations included a number of key events that shaped the subsequent course of the