France's top administrative court ruled Friday that a researcher could consult former president Francois Mitterrand's archives on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, ending a long legal battle over access.
The State Council said the documents would allow the researcher, Francois Graner, "to shed light on a debate that is a matter of public interest".
Graner first requested access in 2015, the year the government declassified archives on Rwanda for the period 1990-95.
But the researcher's request was refused, prompting him to file legal challenges that have failed until to now with courts upholding a law protecting presidential archives for 25 years after a leader's death.
In the case of Mitterrrand, who died in 1996, they would have become available only in 2021.
Many in Rwanda have accused Mitterand's government of supporting the Hutu regime that carried out most of the killings of some 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis.
"Protection of state secrets must be balanced against the interests of informing the public about historic events," the State Council ruled Friday.
"This is a victory for the law, but also for history," Graner's lawyer Patrice Spinosi told AFP.
"Researchers like Mr Graner will be able to access president Mitterrand's archives in order to fully understand France's role in Rwanda in 1994 and 1995," he said.
