“It is a cynical measure, neither fair nor surprising, intended to exclude Israeli technology,” denounced the Israeli Defense Minister.
The closed stand of an Israeli company at the Eurosatory trade show, June 15, 2026. (AFP / GUILLAUME BAPTISTE)
The organizer of the defense and security exhibition Eurosatory closed twelve stands of Israeli companies on its opening day, Monday June 15, because they did not respect the restrictions decided by the French authorities.
In a context of diplomatic tensions between France and Israel, the stands of these companies were
“closed due to non-compliance with the conditions of participation defined by the French authorities”
indicated the organizing company Coges Events in a statement received by the
AFP
. “Coges Events, organizer of the Eurosatory show, which takes place in Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis), must apply the decisions and directives issued by the French authorities. As a result, 12 stands had to be closed”, indicates in this statement the commissioner of the show biennial Charles Beaudouin.
As at the Paris Air Show in 2025, the French government has banned the presentation of so-called offensive Israeli weapons and restricted the participation of Israeli exhibitors “to only materials and products participating exclusively in anti-aircraft defense and anti-ballistic missile capabilities”, he recalls.
The Israeli Defense Ministry denounced “the exasperating demands of the French government”.
“It is a cynical measure, neither fair nor surprising
intended to exclude Israeli technology – the quality of which is proven every day throughout the Near and Middle East – from international exposure,” he wrote on X.
If the stands of the three main Israeli arms manufacturers IAI, Elbit and Rafael remained accessible on Monday, none exhibited weapons models to public view, unlike exhibitors from other countries, noted a journalist from the
AFP
. More
around ten other stands, smaller, were surrounded by boards covered with gray fabric
blocking all access. “It’s a shame and it’s unacceptable,” Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka denounced in front of one of them. “There are no offensive systems that are presented. Each time, there is another idea, another reason that is presented,” he lamented to AFP.
“Technologies used by France”
“I see the companies that are closed and some of them have technologies that are used by France,” he quipped, referring to
“a technology that protects President Macron’s plane
and most of the planes of heads of state around the world and this technology today could not have been presented because of the restrictions that the French government decided to put against Israeli industries.” The ambassador was referring to the anti-missile protection system of Elbit which equips the French presidential A330.
For Joshua Zarka, “at the center of this decision is above all the fear of competition with Israel.”
Israel records record defense equipment exports for 2025, with $19.2 billion
(16.5 billion euros), neck and neck with France, whose exports should be “around 20 billion euros”, according to French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin.
In his now closed stand, Amit Manor, boss of Amit Industries, a company with 50 employees, says he is “surprised” and says he only produces electric batteries used for drones, communications systems or robots but “no weapons”. A verification team visited the stand in recent days without any problems, according to him. He only received an email informing him of the closure of his stand early Monday morning. “I don’t understand,” he confides to
AFP
. He decided eight months ago to participate in the show and the French government only issued its conditions “two weeks ago”.
According to him, Coges Event had “anticipated this type of problem”, by stipulating in the contract with the exhibitor that such a closure could not be subject to reimbursement of the rental cost.
