Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced today that the French government has banned the official participation of the State of Israel in the Eurosatory defense and security exhibition to be held later this month near Paris. This is similar to the decision made two years ago, in which France barred official representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense from setting up a national pavilion.

Israeli companies will be able to exhibit at the exhibition, but they will be prohibited from presenting assault weapons. Dozens of Israeli companies had planned to exhibit at this year's Eurosatory, which will be held from June 14-16.. Their participation is not prohibited according to recent reports, and it is possible that they will continue with their plans to display non-assault weapons during the exhibition. However, there will be no official pavilion of the Defense Export Division of the Ministry of Defense (SIBAT) or of any official body on behalf of the State of Israel.

The Defense Ministry said, "The French decision includes: a ban on the participation of government representatives in the exhibition, a ban on the opening of an Israel national pavilion, and a ban on Israeli defense industries from presenting assault weapons, but only air defense products. This reflects inequality compared with other industries in the world and is contrary to accepted norms at international exhibitions."

The ministry added, "This is a shameful decision that exudes a strong scent of political and commercial considerations, and unfortunately, is not unexpected."

France is a major rival of the Israeli arms industry, both worldwide and in Europe in particular. Among other things, France is not a partner in the air defense umbrella initiative that Germany is promoting for Europe by procuring the Arrow 3 system and other advanced systems from Israel.

The Ministry of Defense wrote, "France, which prides itself on the values of freedom and democracy, is acting in complete contradiction to the values it claims to represent, and is supposedly covering itself up with a fake political consideration in order to exclude from an international exhibition Israeli offensive weapons whose quality is infinitely better than French ones. This is after Israeli technologies demonstrated extraordinary performance with precision and effectiveness against terrorist organizations and regimes that threaten not only Israel, but regional and global stability as a whole."

The last time the exhibition was held two years ago, a series of bans and restrictions were imposed on Israeli companies and the Ministry of Defense at the last minute. A decision made by the exhibition organizers, following a government directive in May 2024, was invalidated by a high court in Paris, but only after the exhibition had already taken place.

This caused great damage to Israe’s image, among other things, as the move was perceived as supporting those demanding a suspension of arms supplies to Israel, claiming it was committing genocide in Gaza. Last year, at the last minute, access to the pavilions of Israeli companies at the Paris air show was blocked.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 1, 2026.

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