New edition of a French defense fair, new clash between France and Israel over the participation of defense companies from the Jewish state.
At the beginning of the week, the French government informed the Israeli Ministry of Defense that official Israeli participation at Eurosatory, the international defense fair in Paris scheduled from June 15 to 19 at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center, north of the French capital, will not be allowed.
In a statement released on Monday, the ministry said the French government decided to ban the setup of an official Israeli national pavilion at the fair, one of the largest international arms fairs in Europe held every two years.
In response, the Israeli Ministry of Defense condemned the decision, calling it shameful, driven by political and commercial interests, and part of a deeply worrying trend in French behavior in recent years.
In 2024, Paris had already tried to ban Israeli defense companies from participating in major global fairs such as Euronaval and Eurosatory, although some managed to participate following legal appeals. In 2025, at the Le Bourget Air Show, organizers completely obscured Israeli stands with large black screens.
The recent decision by the French executive comes at a time of growing tension between Paris and Tel Aviv over Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, while international attention on arms exports and defense cooperation linked to ongoing conflicts is increasing. Not to mention that on Sunday, France requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the Israeli army occupied the iconic medieval fortress of Beaufort in Lebanon, where its flag now flies.
All the details.
EUROSATORY 2026: PARIS BANS ISRAELI DEFENSE COMPANIES
So France bans the display of Israeli offensive weapons at Eurosatory 2026.
“The French decision includes: a ban on government representatives participating in the fair; a ban on opening an official Israeli national pavilion; and a restriction limiting Israeli defense industries to exhibiting only air defense products, with offensive systems explicitly excluded. This policy is applied selectively and discriminatorily compared to other participating nations, in direct violation of established rules governing international defense fairs,” said the ministry spokesperson.
“We have defined a clear framework, namely a fair limited to Israeli equipment and systems related to air and missile defense,” explained the French Ministry of the Armed Forces to franceinfo. “Israeli exhibitors who adhere to this framework will be able to present their companies’ equipment at Eurosatory.”
EXHIBITION ALLOWED EXCLUSIVELY FOR AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS
“Only Israeli exhibitors presenting ballistic and air defense systems will be admitted,” said Charles Beaudouin, president of Coges Events (which organizes the Eurosatory fair) in response to a statement by the Israeli Ministry of Defense protesting the restrictions, reports France24. “This is a decision made by the French government, by the Defense Council,” Beaudouin added, concluding that “There is no room for ambiguity: if an exhibitor also produces rockets, they will not be allowed to display them. This excludes any offensive weapons.”
ISRAEL’S PROTEST
“This policy is applied selectively and discriminatorily compared to other participating nations, in direct violation of established rules governing international defense fairs,” the Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday. “This is a shameful decision, smelling of political and commercial calculation and, unfortunately, not surprising. It is part of a deeply worrying trend in French behavior in recent years,” the Israeli note continued, referring to France’s stance in recent years.
PRECEDENTS
As already mentioned, this is not the first move of this kind by the French state.
In October 2024 Paris banned the presence of Israeli companies producing weapons used in conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon at the Euronaval exhibition.
At the end of May 2024, the presence of Israeli defense manufacturers at the Eurosatory fair was canceled by government decision during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. France had decided to ban Israeli companies from participating in the show. For the 2026 edition of Eurosatory, 2,032 exhibitors are expected across 42 national pavilions, 334 official delegations from 93 countries, and over 43,000 visitors from 155 countries.
Up to the Air Show held last June at Le Bourget: stands such as those of Israeli companies Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI, and Uvision were blocked with black dividers before the start of the world’s largest aerospace fair. Smaller Israeli stands that did not display hardware, and a stand of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, remained open.
But France is not the only one in Europe to take a firm stance: as Defense News recalls, the United Kingdom also banned official government and military delegations from Israel from participating in the DSEI UK 2025 defense fair, while allowing companies to exhibit independently, whereas Israeli firms were excluded from the Dutch NEDS 2025 fair.
