French Parliamentary Commission on Rwanda
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The French Parliamentary Commission on Rwanda was decided in the beginning of 1998 after a press campaign and articles by journalist Patrick de Saint-Exupéry in the Figaro newspaper. The Belgian Senate did the same in 1997.
The French deputies decided to examine France's policy in Rwanda between 1990 and 1994. For the first time in the Fifth Republic, the Parliament examined events related to the "reserved domains" of the President of the Republic. Composed of members from the Foreign Relations Parliamentary Committee and the National Defence and Armed Forces Parliamentary Committee, this mission was thus the expression of a renewed will to extend the democratic field of the Parliament.
The mission was presided by Paul Quilès, and the hearings took place between March 24, 1998 and July 9, 1998. The MPs also went two days in Rwanda to visit the Murambi memorial and to meet Rwandan officials and survivals organisations. Titled "Repport of the Information Mission of the National Defence and Armed Forces Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee on the military operations lead by France, other countries and the United Nations in Rwanda between 1990 and 1994", the final report was published on December 15, 1998 [1].
