These narratives argue that the genocide was a reaction by Hutu civilians, enraged by the downing of President Habyarimana’s plane, prompting them to lash out and begin killing Tutsi across the country overnight.

But beyond the lists of names, the pre-dug mass graves, and the early massacres that occurred throughout Rwanda, irrefutable evidence had already been gathered by the international community showing that Habyarimana’s regime was planning to exterminate at least 700,000 Tutsi.

France, a staunch ally of President Habyarimana, learnt of this plot as early as October 1990, just days after the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched its liberation struggle.

At the time, Colonel René Galinié, then the French military attaché at the French embassy in Kigali, had served in Rwanda for three years.

On October 8, 1990, he sent a report to his superiors in Paris warning that Tutsi civilians in Kigali were being arrested and killed. This came in the wake of a crackdown on alleged RPF collaborators that began on October 5.

Five days later, Galinié sent another dispatch. He reported that organized Hutu groups were hunting down Tutsi in the hills, and that killings had already begun in Kibilira commune (now in Ngororero District).

A 1998 report by the French Parliamentary Commission later confirmed that between October 11 and 13, 1990, 348 Tutsi were massacred in Kibilira, and more than 500 homes were burned down. None of the victims were RPF fighters or affiliated with the movement, they were killed simply for being Tutsi.

When asked by journalists about the massacre in Kibilira, President Habyarimana dismissed it, saying, “There’s nothing serious, all the people respect the authorities.”

By October 9, 1990, just over a week after the RPF launched its offensive, the Rwandan Ministry of Justice announced it had arrested over 3,000 alleged collaborators, while other reports estimated the number of detainees to be over 10,000.

Galinié continued to send telegrams to Paris, reporting the ongoing killing of Tutsi and emphasizing that President Habyarimana supported the violence. It’s important to note that this was in 1990, four years before the genocide actually began.

In his reports, Galinié warned that unless the RPF was stopped from reclaiming territory, Habyarimana’s government would intensify attacks on Tutsi civilians. He argued that France might feel compelled to intervene militarily.

In a telegraph dated October 24, 1990, Col. Galinié wrote, “Based on my analysis and the information received over recent days, a plan is underway to eliminate around 700,000 Tutsi inside the country.”

“The government will not agree to give up parts of the country through [peace] negotiations if it means handing them over to Tutsi who want to reclaim the power they lost in 1959. They fear that the RPF will establish a Tutsi monarchy in those areas. Whether done openly or secretly, this could lead to the killing of between 500,000 and 700,000 Tutsi, carried out by Hutu,” he continued.

Despite these alarming warnings, France did not act to stop the genocide plans. Instead, when the RPF captured Umutara, France deployed troops to Rwanda under Operation Noroît, officially claiming the mission was to evacuate French nationals, but effectively providing military support to Habyarimana’s regime.

French troops not only remained in Rwanda but also continued training Habyarimana’s army and assisted them in battle, even after warnings that a genocide was being prepared.

Rather than pressuring Habyarimana to stop the killings, France praised his handling of the so-called "accomplices" in late 1990, a move widely condemned by human rights organizations, who accused the Rwandan government of continuing to kill and persecute innocent people under the pretext of arresting collaborators.

Even Radio France Internationale (RFI), funded by the French government, failed to report the scale of the atrocities, despite overwhelming evidence. Instead, it downplayed the events in Rwanda, ignoring the reality unfolding on the ground.

A French soldier from Operation "Turquoise" in a Tutsi refugee camp, in Gisenyi, Rwanda, on June 24, 1994.