During President Habyarimana's years in power, France maintained very close relations with him, as part of its Françafrique policy, and assisted Rwanda militarily against the RPF during the Civil War; France considered the RPF, along with Uganda, as part of a "plot" to increase Anglophone influence at the expense of French influence.
Tijekom mandata predsjednika Habyarimane, Francuska je održavala vrlo bliske odnose s njim, kao dio svoje Françafrique politike, i uz pomagala vojsci Ruande protiv RPF za vrijeme građanskog rata Francuska je smatrala RPF, zajedno s Ugandom, dijelom "zavjere" za povećanje anglofilnog utjecaj na štetu francuskog utjecaja.