Just three days after the war began on October 1, 1990, France deployed around 300 elite troops to Rwanda under the pretext of protecting French citizens and ensuring the safety of foreign nationals. In reality, the troops had been sent to rescue Habyarimana's regime.
This French intervention was codenamed 'Operation Noroît', and the number of soldiers was later increased to around 800, according to Michel Goya, a former French Army colonel, in his analysis 'Penser les opérations. Retour sur l'opération 'Noroît' au Rwanda (1990-1993)'.
France's long record of foreign military operations
The deployment of French troops to Rwanda was part of a broader pattern of foreign military interventions abroad, known in France as 'Opérations Extérieures' (OPEX). These operations have stretched across continents for decades.
Before Rwanda, French troops had intervened in Kolwezi, Zaire (now DR Congo) in 1978. Other OPEX missions included Operation Atlante in 1954 in Indochina (present-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia); joint NATO missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan during the 1990s and 2000s; and deployments in the Middle East, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.
Today, roughly 30,000 French soldiers serve abroad, according to France's embassy in the United States.
Africa as France's long-standing military backyard
Reports indicate that France has intervened militarily 31 times in Africa since 1963. France has conducted numerous military operations under OPEX, treating the continent as a traditional sphere of influence.
These include Operation Épervier in Chad (1986â€"2014), Operation Licorne in Côte d'Ivoire (2001), Operation Artémis in Ituri, DR Congo (2003), and Kolwezi (1978).
Later operations included Serval and Barkhane in Mali, with the latter also extending into Burkina Faso and Niger. Others, like Operation Manta in Chad, Sabre in Niger and Burkina Faso, and deployments in Mauritania, Gabon, Djibouti, Senegal, and the Central African Republic, reinforced France's deep military footprint across Africa.
France's silence on Operation Noroît
Despite its extensive record of military missions abroad, France does not officially list Operation Noroît among its recognized OPEX operations, nor does it like to discuss it publicly.
While addressing diplomats and representatives of international organizations working in Rwanda, together with officials from the Ministry of National Unity in 2022, the then French Ambassador to Rwanda, Antoine Anfré, noted that many people tend to focus on Operation Turquoise, which took place in June 1994 during the Genocide against teh Tutsi, while overlooking Operation Noroît of 1990.
At that time, he explained that through Operation Noroît, France had helped Habyarimana's army repel the first offensive launched by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), an attack in which Major General Fred Rwigema was killed.
He also hinted at the possibility that French pilots might have operated the helicopters used by the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) during the fighting.
Referring specifically to the helicopters Habyarimana used in the battle against the RPA, Anfré remarked, 'You would want to know who was actually flying them.'
France's decision to send troops to Rwanda under the pretext of protecting civilians and facilitating humanitarian assistance, while those same soldiers went on to work directly with the FAR in combat operations, remains an embarrassment for the European nation.
The discomfort is even deeper because some of the French trainers also instructed the Interahamwe militias, who were later involved in the secution of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
A failed mission that ended in shame
Operation Noroît lasted about three years, ending in 1993 without achieving its stated goals.
The subsequent Operation Turquoise during Genocide against the Tutsi in June 1994, publicly presented as a humanitarian mission to protect civilians, also became controversial.
Instead of saving lives, French troops were accused of siding with FAR and fighting against the RPA, which was then working to stop the genocide.
Furthermore, France was implicated in aiding the escape of members of the genocidal government and shielding some from accountability, helping them flee to Zaire and even Europe.
These actions have left France with a lasting sense of shame and denial over its role in Rwanda.
As Colonel (Rtd) Michel Goya noted in his conclusion, France ultimately decided that Operation Noroît would not appear on the official list of French overseas military operations.
IGIHE
