The management of the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris blocked Israeli company booths with wooden boards overnight, despite Israeli firms meeting French government demands to display only defensive weaponry, according to a Defense Ministry statement. The ministry condemned the move as cynical and discriminatory, vowing to continue advancing Israeli defense exports worldwide despite French efforts.
Paris — The Defense Ministry condemned the management of the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris for blocking Israeli company booths with wooden boards overnight, calling the move cynical and discriminatory. The ministry said the blocking occurred despite Israeli firms having met the French government's demand to display only defensive weaponry, and vowed to continue advancing Israeli defense exports worldwide despite what it termed French efforts to sideline Israel's presence at the fair.
As The Zioneer reported at 10:22 Monday morning, the overnight blocking follows a period of tension over Israel's participation in the biennial event. The ministry's statement, issued by Monday morning, is the first official Israeli response and escalates the public confrontation beyond the initial report of the physical blockade.
The Zioneer previously noted that French organizers had demanded Israeli exhibitors limit their displays to defensive systems. No further background on the broader diplomatic context was available in the desk's published record as of Monday morning.
It remains unclear whether the Defense Ministry plans any diplomatic or legal countermeasures. The exhibition organizers have not issued a public statement as of Monday morning, and no independent confirmation of the ministry's account of the overnight events has emerged.
3 developments
- DevelopingIndustrialist leader urges retaliatory measures against France over defense firms' exclusion from arms fair
- DevelopingIsrael's Foreign Ministry condemns France's ban on Smotrich entry
- StrongIsrael leads 15-firm defense delegation to Berlin air show as exports hit all-time high
- DevelopingFrance accuses Israeli firm Blackcore of election meddling
Source and signal
- Internal intake