Israeli officials blasted France’s decision to bar an official Israeli pavilion from the Eurosatory international arms fair in Paris, calling the move a disgrace and warning it marked a dramatic escalation in ties between the countries.
Col. Sagi Fink, the Israeli embassy's defense attaché in France, said the ban on the Israeli pavilion was “a shameful decision” that runs counter to the values France claims to represent.
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Eurosatory international arms fair in Paris; French President Emmanuel Macron
(Photo: Bambax / Shutterstock, AFP)
“We will not give up, and we will continue selling to our partners in Europe and around the world,” Fink said.
Speaking to ynet, Fink called the decision “a dramatic deterioration in Israel-France relations.”
“I am disappointed in them. It is a disgrace,” he said. “Did they ban the United States from exhibiting because of the war against Iran?”
The decision bars official Israeli government and Defense Ministry representatives from participating in the June 15-18 fair and prevents Israel from operating a national pavilion. Private Israeli companies will be allowed to attend, but only to display air defense and missile defense systems.
It is not the first time France has restricted Israeli defense companies from displaying “offensive weapons,” but Israeli officials said it is the first time the national pavilion itself has been banned. A formal Palestinian delegation, meanwhile, appears on the list of participants.
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'Palestine' appears on the list of participants at the Eurosatory international arms fair in Paris
The Defense Ministry believes the real motivation is commercial competition between French and Israeli defense firms selling similar equipment. Officials said the public explanation is usually geopolitical — in previous years, the war in Gaza, and this year, the war in Lebanon.
Israel is now weighing political and legal responses, as well as efforts to strengthen defense ties with allied countries already cooperating with Israeli industries.
Fink said he intends “to stand proudly in IDF uniform at the entrance to the closed pavilion.”
“They will not stop us,” he said.
The economic damage is estimated at millions of euros, as many Israeli companies have already paid participation fees and shipped exhibits to France. Fink said the damage also includes canceled meetings between senior IDF officials, Israeli defense industry executives and foreign procurement delegations.
Thirty-three Israeli companies had been expected to participate in the fair. After previous cancellations, larger Israeli firms signed contracts directly with the exhibition, but smaller companies with fewer resources were supposed to exhibit through the Israeli pavilion.
“We will not stop, and we will continue cooperating with other countries,” Fink said. “Just last week, we closed major deals at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. In 10 days, we will participate in a major exhibition in Germany. Whoever wants to buy from us will continue to do so.”
The Defense Ministry called the French decision “shameful” and said it carried “a heavy scent of political and commercial considerations.”
“Unfortunately, it is not surprising,” the ministry said. “The decision fits disturbingly with a consistent trend in French conduct in recent years, placing France again and again on the wrong side of history.”