Minister Nduhungirehe Slams French MP Mariani After Call to Freeze EU Partnership
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has strongly criticized French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Thierry Mariani, following his appeal for the European Union (EU) to suspend cooperation with Rwanda.
On September 11, 2025, Mariani and several other lawmakers in the European Parliament supported a resolution urging Rwanda to release opposition figure Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who faces charges including attempts to destabilize the government. In his remarks, Mariani accused President Paul Kagame of authoritarianism, claiming the EU should end what he described as its “silence on Kagame” and use diplomatic pressure by cutting ties with Kigali until Ingabire is freed.
Responding on social media platform X, Minister Nduhungirehe shared photos of Mariani posing with two controversial leaders: Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president accused of mass atrocities against civilians, and Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Nduhungirehe used the images to accuse Mariani of hypocrisy and opportunism, suggesting his criticism of Rwanda was driven not by principles but by financial interests. Referring to Assad’s ouster in December 2024, the minister alleged that Mariani lost a key source of income and quickly turned to align himself with Tshisekedi.
“I think it is your wallet that suffered after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, whom you worked for under the guise of defending democracy,” Nduhungirehe wrote. “So you rushed to escape poverty thanks to the generosity of another regime of the same nature, one that violates fundamental rights of its people, as if you truly care for them.”
Mariani, founder of the far-right political movement La Droite Populaire under the Rassemblement National party, has long been one of Kigali’s fiercest critics in Brussels. He is also known for siding with Kinshasa in accusing Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group, allegations Kigali has repeatedly dismissed as baseless.
The Rwandan government has consistently argued that such accusations are part of a campaign by DRC authorities to deflect from their own failures, including corruption, poor governance, and the inability to secure the country against more than 200 armed groups destabilizing the eastern provinces.
Now Deputy Mariani supports Tshisekedi’s government in the DRC.
The latest diplomatic exchange highlights rising tensions between Rwanda and sections of the European Parliament, even as Kigali maintains that its partnership with the EU remains rooted in mutual development goals and respect for sovereignty.
