Rwanda has produced the most detailed account yet of France’s role during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The report released in Kigali follows a four-year inquiry. It implicates top officials in the French political and military establishment, including François Mitterrand, then president, his son, Jean-Christophe, two former prime ministers and a host of military officers.

Some of the allegations are new. Some have been around for a long time. But the thrust is that Paris gave diplomatic cover and provided military training and arms to Hutu extremists who carried out the slaughter of 1m ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. There are new details of training that French officers gave to the civil defence units that became the Interahamwe militias responsible for leading the massacres. The report suggests that Paris was providing arms well after the atrocities had begun. It also alleges some French personnel participated directly in war crimes. If there is compelling evidence, they should face justice.