Israel on Monday accused the French government of blocking off parts of the Israeli pavilion at the Paris Air Show, which opened in Le Bourget Airport, breaking with understandings reached on Israel’s participation and principles of equality.
General Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s director general, called the move “absolutely, bluntly antisemitic” and accused France of “commercial exclusion to prevent successful Israeli industries from competing with French ones.”
In a statement, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that the French government’s action “comes at a time when Israel is fighting a necessary and just war to eliminate the nuclear and ballistic threat facing the Middle East, Europe and the entire world.”
Exhibition organizers, acting on behalf of the French government, ordered the removal of offensive weapons systems from Israeli pavilions. When the Israeli delegation refused, the organizers erected “a black wall that blocks the Israeli pavilions and creates segregation between the Israeli industry pavilions and dozens of other pavilions (Turkish, Chinese, and others),” the ministry said.
The International Paris Air Show confirmed that it had taken the action in question in a statement to FranceInfo. “This followed an ‘instruction from the competent French authorities prior to the opening of the Show, relating to the withdrawal of certain equipment presented on Israeli pavilions,’ the organizers told the broadcaster. “Dialogue is underway so that the various parties can find a favorable outcome to the situation,” they added.
The show is organized by the French Aerospace Industries Association, an umbrella group representing several aviation giants, including Airbus, Astrium and Dassault Aviation.
Under President Emmanuel Macron, France imposed a weapons embargo on Israel amid its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Last year, a Paris court struck down restrictions requested by the French Defense Ministry on Israeli companies regarding the Eurosatory 2024 defense show, ruling they compromised principles of equality.
