French President Emmanuel Macron visits Kigali on Thursday hoping to reset ties between the two nations after decades of Rwandan accusations that France was complicit in the 1994 genocide.

The visit follows the release in March of a report by a French commission of inquiry which said a colonial attitude had blinded French officials and the government bore a "serious and overwhelming" responsibility for not foreseeing the slaughter.

However, the report did absolve France of direct complicity in the killings of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has previously said France participated in the genocide, said last week that the report "meant a lot" to Rwandans.

Rwandans could "maybe not forget but forgive" France for its role, said Kagame, a Tutsi and the main power in Rwandan politics since his rebel army ended the killings by death squads loyal to the Hutu-led government.