Citing constitutional principles of equality, a Paris court on Wednesday reversed a decision to ban Israeli firms from the Euronaval Defense Exposition.
In a statement on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the decision by the Tribunal de commerce de Paris, or Commercial Court of Paris. The French media quoted the decision as referencing the incompatibility of excluding representatives of financial enterprises on the basis of their national group—Israelis in this case—from attending a public event.
“Congratulations to the Israeli petitioners in the French court for their major victory against the undemocratic and unjust decision by French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” tweeted Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Macron recently called for an arms embargo against Israel until it halts its war on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Last month, 12 Israeli companies slated to participate in the exposition in France were disinvited by the GICAN association of naval industry firms, which organizes Euronaval, the world’s largest naval weapons fair.
A French government representative confirmed last month to the AFP news agency that it had introduced restrictions on the participation of Israeli entities at the exposition, but only the ones that participated in the conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Virtually all weapons manufacturers in Israel sell their products to Israel’s security forces, which have been conducting the fighting for over a year.
The French government likely knew its ban would be reversed. In June, the Commercial Court reversed an earlier ban imposed on Israeli defense companies to prevent them from exhibiting at another weapons exposition, the Eurosatory.
France’s contribution to Israel’s defense imports is smaller than 0.1%, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Several Israeli firms had petitioned the court with help from the Israeli Foreign Ministry following the ban. The petitioners included Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Orbit Communications Systems.
