After French government banned Israeli companies from participating in security conference, Macron reverses course

Israeli companies will be participating in the Milipol defense exhibition in Paris this week, after French President Emmanuel Macron reversed a government decision to exclude eight companies. 

The eight Israeli companies were disinvited last week, based on a principle established by the French government in 2024, when it decided that Israeli companies whose military products were being used in the Gaza War would be barred from presenting at trade exhibitions in France. 

On Nov. 10, the eight companies received emails stating that due to "a decision by the French state," they would not be allowed to attend the Milipol exhibit. 

French-Jewish lawmaker Meyer Habib, who has connections with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was contacted by a lawyer representing one of the companies. He sent a text message to President Macron asking for clarification regarding the letters disinviting the firms. 

According to a story in JNS, after waiting for over two hours without a response, Habib decided to post a screenshot of his message to social media. A few hours later, President Macron responded with a message, saying, “Sorted, regards.” 

Je viens de recevoir un message du président de la république!!
Il n’y aura pas de boycott des sociétés israéliennes!
L’affaire est réglée !
Je tiens à remercier ! https://t.co/XX2lww5ubO pic.twitter.com/MmEcJFyZdP

— Meyer Habib (@Meyer_Habib) November 11, 2025

Habib had called the banning of the Israeli companies “an immense scandal” in his social media post, in which he claimed that the French government had ordered the exhibit organizers to cancel the participation of the Israeli firms after they had registered. 

Habib also called the intervention by the French government “an aggression against Israel.” 

Shortly after Macron’s answer to Habib, a French diplomatic source told Israeli media, “We have seen that the information that 8 Israeli companies will be banned from participating in the French security exhibition Milipol is being circulated. We want to correct this – all the companies that applied to participate will indeed participate in the exhibition.” 

While the Israeli Ministry of Interior, and the Israeli Embassy in Paris were also involved in trying to reverse the decision, neither had released public statements regarding the banning of the Israeli firms by the time that Habib secured a response from Macron. 

The initial decision by the French government to ban the Israeli companies marks the fourth time that Israeli firms have been excluded from defense exhibits following the start of the Oct. 7 Gaza War. Two such bans were overturned by French courts in 2024.

Meyer Habib told the Jewish News Syndicate that he believes officials in the French Foreign Ministry “pursued their anti-Israel policies but without necessarily clearing it with the president.” 

Milipol Paris is a leading international defense exhibition, and a ban on presenting their products would likely have meant a significant loss in sales for the companies.