France Blocks Israeli Defense Booths Again at Paris Arms Fair

France once again blocked access to Israeli defense-company booths at the Eurostory arms exhibition, which opened Monday morning in Paris. Overnight, the fair’s management sealed off the stands with wooden panels, including booths set up by Aeronautics and Controp, both subsidiaries of Rafael, as well as Orbit and Smart Shooter, the maker of smart sights used, among other things, to intercept drones.

More than 30 Israeli companies are exhibiting at Eurostory, including the major defense firms Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael and Elbit. Their booths were not blocked this year, unlike last year’s Paris Air Show, when access to their display areas was also shut off. In recent weeks, the French government told Israel’s Defense Ministry that Israeli companies would be allowed to show only defensive systems and not offensive ones, and that the ministry could not mount its own booth or send official representatives.

The move comes against the backdrop of the French government’s sharply critical line toward Israel since the start of the October 7 war and over the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel’s Defense Ministry reacted angrily, saying the companies had complied with France’s “outrageous” requirements and were displaying only defensive weapons. It called the step “cynical, unequal and unsurprising,” arguing it was meant to exclude proven Israeli technology from an international fair and vowing to keep pushing Israeli defense exports despite French efforts to hide Israel’s technological edge.

Eurostory is considered one of the world’s most prestigious arms exhibitions and is held every two years in alternation with the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. A representative of one blacklisted company told Calcalist that the French had demanded only defensive weapons be shown, which all the firms accepted, but the access was still blocked overnight. Another senior defense-industry figure said Israel should consider whether to keep attending French arms fairs, noting that business meetings can be held elsewhere and pointing to last week’s successful ILA exhibition in Germany. In response to the worsening ties, Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram ordered procurement bodies three months ago to cut defense contracting with France to zero, though the ministry said French imports were already minimal.