Grada Kilomba Unveils France's First Memorial to Tutsi Genocide in Paris

On June 2, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron and Rwandan President Paul Kagame inaugurated L'Archive, the first French memorial dedicated to the Tutsi genocide, created by artist Grada Kilomba. Located on the Esplanade Habib Bourguiba near the Seine, the abstract monument consists of two black brass steles set on a square base covered in black-and-white triangles inspired by the Rwandan decorative art imigongo. The memorial bears an inscription in French, English, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili stating that over one million people were killed in 100 days between April 7 and July 4, 1994. Commissioned by the French state and the City of Paris at the initiative of Ibuka France, the work emerged from an international artistic consultation launched in 2023 by the Centre national des arts plastiques. Kilomba, a Portuguese artist of Santomean and Angolan descent known for exploring collective trauma and colonial history, chose abstraction to avoid reproducing violence. The space between the steles symbolizes absence, silence, and a place for bodies to inhabit. A QR code provides access to letters, drawings, poems, and testimonies collected in Rwanda, forming a digital archive. The inauguration marks a step in Franco-Rwandan rapprochement following Macron's 2021 speech in Kigali acknowledging France's 'overwhelming responsibilities.'