Almost twenty years after France's shamelessly duplicative role in the Rwandan genocide, President Sarkozy is putting the finishing touches to a subtle, but effective, public relations push to repair the relationship with its former African ally.

A new judicial investigation in France has concluded that the event that triggered the genocide of 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus was the responsibility of the ruling hard line Hutu extremists and not rebel Tutsi's as previously argued. A key concession in finding closure to his dark episode in both countries' history.

In April 1994 two surface-to air-missiles shot down an aircraft trying to land at the capital Kigali. Aboard Juvénal Habyarimana, the Rwandan President and a Hutu along with the Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira and flown by a French crew.

Who was responsible for firing the missiles has been the subject of much debate. Was it extremist Hutus trying to destabilise the fragile peace between the government and the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front rebels? Or was it the responsibility of the Tutsi commander and now President, Paul Kagame, in a bid to overthrow the Hutu government? One thing is certain, it kicked off a frenzy of killing that left one in six of the population dead.

The judicial investigation now says that the missile was fired from Hutu barracks. This is quite a climbdown for the French who were staunch allies of the Habyarimana regime but one that will be welcomed by Sarkozy as another step towards rebuilding relations with Rwanda.

It's a relationship that has been less than normal for the best part of 20 years. At the height of the genocide France launched Operation Turquoise, a unilateral military operation to supposedly set up a safe zone for fleeing Tutsis. In reality it was a thinly disguised escape route for their Hutu allies now on the run ahead of the advancing RPF.

Hundreds of wanted war criminals escaped under the cloak of French protection, the President at the time, Francois Mitterrand, eager to keep the extent of France's involvement in the atrocities. out of the limelight. When the RPF eventually took control their leader and soon to be President, Kagame did not forget.

All diplomatic communications with their former sponsor were severed and trade and cultural links with France abandoned. The English language was promoted over French and in the ultimate snub Rwanda joined the British Commonwealth even though it is a country with no historic links to the UK.

But seeing Rwanda as one of the fastest growing economies on the continent prompted the current French President to try and build bridges. He has apologised for France's conduct and has actively sought to bring to trial wanted war criminals from 1994 still hiding in France.

The warming of relations between the two countries moved up a degree or two last year with President Kagame visiting the Élysée Palace.

The acknowledgement of the French backed Hutus culpability is another important milestone on the road back to normalising communications between the two countries.