The Court of Cassation, France's highest judicial body, has confirmed the acquittal of French military personnel accused of complicity in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The decision comes after a long legal battle involving organizations and survivors who claimed the French military abandoned Tutsi civilians during the massacres at Bisesero, a village in western Rwanda, allowing hundreds to be killed by Hutu extremists over three days in June 1994. During the genocide, France was present in Rwanda as part of the humanitarian operation called Turquoise. Survivors and human rights groups, including Survie, Ibuka, FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), LDH (League for Human Rights), and Licra, accused French soldiers of deliberately leaving Tutsi civilians in the hills of Bisesero without protection. They argued that this inaction allowed the mass killings to occur. In December 2024, the Paris court of appeal rejected the charges of "complicity in genocide" against five military personnel, upholding the acquittal initially decided by investigating judges in October 2023. The military personnel had been placed in a less formal legal status as "assisted witnesses" rather than being formally investigated. In its ruling, the Court of Cassation stated that the military personnel were not responsible for acting without specific orders from their superiors, the French Ministry of Defense. The judges noted there was no evidence that the officers intended to facilitate the killing of Tutsi civilians and emphasized that delays in intervention were due to confusion about the situation on the ground. They also pointed out that the unit led by Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Rémi Duval was under-staffed for a secure operation. General Jean-Claude Lafourcade, who commanded Operation Turquoise, was noted to have sought more information before deciding on any action, and his knowledge of the events remained uncertain. The legal process, which spanned over 20 years, has concluded with the assertion that no French soldiers involved in Operation Turquoise are criminally liable for the genocide. Lawyers for the military personnel described the ruling as a "historical significance" and emphasized the need to protect those who faced a "real presumption of guilt." General Lafourcade expressed relief, stating that the French soldiers should now be able to take pride in their actions during the genocide, as France was the only major country to intervene. The genocide, which lasted from April to July 1994, claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, according to the United Nations.