Rwanda's Kagame pays 'reconciliation visit' to France

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has paid his first visit to France since his country's 1994 genocide, in a bid to bridge the countries' deep divides.

Rwanda has accused the French military of contributing to the massacre of 800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsis by the Hutu regime and its supporters.

Diplomatic ties were broken off in 2006 after a French judge blamed Mr Kagame, then leading a Tutsi rebel group, for sparking the genocide.

Both sides have denied the charges.

The reconciliation process started last year when French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Rwanda.

During that visit, Mr Sarkozy acknowledged that France had made "mistakes" during the genocide - but he stopped short of an apology.

He said "a sort of blindness" had prevented France from seeing "the genocidal aspect of the [Hutu] government" of the time.

Mutual interests
Arriving in Paris, Mr Kagame attended a gathering of Europe's Rwandan diaspora.

"We are working together to see how we can leave history behind, to move ahead," Mr Kagame said.

He said there were people opposed to an improvement in French-Rwandan relations.

Many in the French army are furious about Rwanda's claim that French soldiers encouraged or even took part in the genocide, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who occupied the same position in 1994, is absent from Paris on a visit to the Pacific Rim.



But analysts say it is in the interests of both countries to rebuild their relationship.

Mr Kagame said it was time for Rwanda and France to move ahead in their relations

French influence in Africa's Great Lakes region has diminished and President Kagame is under increasing pressure at home and abroad over allegations of human rights abuses.

On Monday, the two presidents are to lunch at the Elysee Palace to "develop a partnership between our two countries and deepen our co-operation" - as an adviser to Mr Sarkozy said.