Israel barred from attending defense exhibition in France
Among other restrictions the French decision includes a ban on government representatives attending, a ban on opening an Israeli national pavilion
According to an Israel Ministry of Defense spokesperson, the French government has informed the Israeli MOD of its decision to bar Israel’s official participation in the EUROSATORY defense exhibition. As a result, Israel will be unable to participate in the exhibition or establish a national pavilion at next month’s event in Paris.
The French decision encompasses a ban on government representatives attending the exhibition, a ban on opening an Israeli national pavilion, and a restriction limiting Israeli defense industries to air defense products only, with offensive systems explicitly excluded.
The MOD says this policy is applied “selectively and discriminatorily” relative to other participating nations and is in direct violation of the established norms governing international defense exhibitions. The spokesperson called the decision “disgraceful,” adding that it “reeks of political and commercial calculation.”
The MOD spokesperson further criticized a pattern in France’s recent conduct of being on “the wrong side of history” and said that their actions contradict their principles of liberty and democracy.