Overview

• The Tribunal administratif d’Orléans affirmed the city’s decision to block the August 28 interment of the Rwandan figure known as “Monsieur Z.”
• The court noted evidence that several hundred people could attend, highlighted tensions with genocide-memory groups, and warned the grave could become a pilgrimage site.
• Mayor Serge Grouard revoked an earlier burial permit after discovering the deceased’s background and pointing to missing paperwork tracing the body’s entry into France.
• The family’s lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, says they will appeal to the Conseil d’État on fundamental rights grounds, as the body remains in a regional funeral home.
• Zigiranyirazo, 87, died on August 3 in Niamey and was acquitted on appeal by the ICTR in 2009 after an initial conviction; the Diocese of Orléans announced it would not authorize a religious celebration.