On 3 October 1990, French President François Mitterrand ordered a military company from the Deuxième Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes (REP) to deploy in Kigali, Rwanda, as part of Operation Noroît. This operation marked a significant moment in the Rwandan Civil War, as it involved French military support for the Habyarimana regime, which was engaged in conflict with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
Special Day Title:
“Operation Noroît: French Intervention in the Rwandan Civil War”
Special Day Description:
Operation Noroît was launched as a French military intervention aimed at stabilizing the Rwandan government and supporting the MRND (National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development) regime of Juvénal Habyarimana. The deployment of the Deuxième Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes (REP) represented a significant French commitment to the defense of the Habyarimana government at a time when the RPF had launched its offensive in northern Rwanda.
French military involvement in Rwanda was based on France’s historical ties with the country, especially with the Habyarimana regime. French forces initially provided logistical support, training, and weapons to the Rwandan government forces. Operation Noroît, however, was part of a broader French strategy to maintain influence in Africa and to support allies in the region. The intervention aimed to prevent the RPF’s advances and to help the Rwandan government reassert control over areas threatened by the RPF’s liberation struggle.
This day serves as a reminder of the international complexities surrounding the Rwandan Civil War, and the implications of foreign military support during the conflict. The French intervention was a subject of significant controversy, as it later emerged that the French government had provided crucial backing to a regime accused of perpetrating atrocities against Tutsi civilians during the 1994 Genocide.
Operation Noroît thus marks an important, albeit contentious, chapter in the broader context of the Rwandan Civil War. It highlights the geopolitical dimensions of the conflict and underscores the role of international interventions in the unfolding of events that would eventually lead to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.