PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron said France and its allies could have stopped the Rwandan genocide but lacked the will to do so.

In a video message set to be released on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Macron stressed that "when the phase of total extermination against the Tutsis began, the international community had the means to know and act," local media reported Thursday.

He said his country, "which could have stopped the genocide with its Western and African allies, did not have the will" to do so.

Macron also said that France stands by the Rwandan people in memory of the 1 million men, women and children who were tortured because they were born Tutsi.

During his visit to Rwanda in 2021, he recognized France’s "responsibilities" in the genocide.

He will not accept an invitation from Rwandan President Paul Kagame to visit the country to take part in commemorative events on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the genocide.

Instead, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Junior Maritime Affairs Minister Herve Berville, who was born in Rwanda, will attend the events.

Hutu extremists targeted the minority Tutsi ethnic group after the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira in a plane crash on April 6, 1994.

An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the bloodshed, which lasted 100 days.