<p>KIGALI, Rwanda &mdash; French President Emmanuel Macron made a key visit to Rwanda on Thursday as his country tries to mend relations with the central African country 27 years after the genocide. </p>
<p>Macron arrived in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, early Thursday and is due to hold talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. </p>
<p>Macron’s trip builds on a series of French efforts since his election in 2017 to repair ties between the two countries. </p>
<p>He will visit a memorial to the frenzied 1994 slaughter that left an estimated 800,000 people dead, mainly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them from Hutu extremists.</p>
<p>Two reports completed in March and in April that examined France’s role in the genocide helped clear a path for Macron’s visit, the first by a French president in 11 years. </p>
<p>The previous visit, by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010, was the first by a French leader after the 1994 massacre sent relations into a tailspin. Rwanda’s government and genocide survivor organizations often accused France of training and arming militias and former government troops who led the genocide. </p>