‘Cynical & discriminatory’: Israel decries cover-up of Israeli pavilions at Paris defense exhibition

The Israeli Defense Ministry sharply criticized the decision to wall off part of the Israeli defense industry’s pavilions at a Paris defense exhibition, despite the companies having complied with strict limitations ahead of the event.

“Overnight, the management of the Eurosatory exhibition boarded up Israeli defense industry pavilions - despite these companies having met the French government’s outrageous demands and displayed solely defensive systems,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

The French government had singled out Israel ahead of the exhibition, banning any official presence from government representatives, including the export directorate SIBAT and the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense, and only allowing Israeli companies to exhibit if they restrict themselves exclusively to air- and missile-defense systems, with offensive weapons explicitly banned.

🇫🇷 France vs 🇮🇱 Israel: they just don’t stop.

Israeli Ministry of Defense:
The organizers of the Eurosatory exhibition blocked the booths of Israeli defense companies overnight with wooden barriers, despite the fact that the companies complied with the French government’s… pic.twitter.com/gkaKPZ3dPx

— גיא עזריאל Guy Azriel (@GuyAz) June 15, 2026

Eurosatory is a leading global defense expo that showcases military systems and security innovations from around the world. The event operates under the official patronage of the French Ministry of Armed Forces.

The Israeli defense ministry added that the decision to close off the Israeli booths “is a cynical, discriminatory, and unsurprising move aimed at shutting Israeli technology out of an international exhibition – technology whose quality is proven daily across the Middle East.”

Companies impacted by the closure include Smart Shooter, Controp, Orbit, Aeronautics, Marom and Source, according to Ynet News, while others like Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael and Elbit Systems remained accessible.

The representative of one company told Ynet: “We are not giving in to the French and we are exhibiting.”

Representatives of Controp responded to the move by writing on the wall closing off their booth that the company’s long-range cameras “'defeated Iranian ballistic missiles, but lost to French short sightedness.”

“The Israel Ministry of Defense will continue driving Israeli defense exports to new global heights, despite French efforts to conceal Israeli technological superiority from the world,” it concluded.

There was no immediate comment or explanation from Eurosatory or the French government for the sudden move.

#Eurosatory just started! Airbus will showcase its latest innovations and technologies for the Defence & Security industry featuring its drone range (SIRTAP, Bird of Prey, Flexrotor, VSR700, Capa-X, Aliaca), its military aircraft (including new capabilities of the A400M) but also… pic.twitter.com/qs4H4PBoOC

— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 15, 2026

French authorities had similarly sought to block Israel’s participation in the 2024 Eurosatory event, but it was later reversed. In 2025, organizers at the Paris Air Show also walled off Israeli company booths displaying offensive weapons systems.

A French official explained the decision to ban the Israeli government by stating it was “consistent with the French diplomatic position, which seeks peace and stability in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.”

However, Ynet cited Israeli experts who believe that the decision could also be influenced by concern that some of the products could represent direct competition to France’s defense industry.

French-Israeli relations have been highly tense since Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel, as Paris has strongly criticized Israel’s conduct in the resulting war.

On Friday, French Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot hosted a conference of some 250 activists for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians to mark one year since France’s call to establish a “State of Palestine.”

Israel’s embassy told Reuters in response that France “cannot act as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians,” noting that “the Palestinians have rejected proposals to establish a Palestinian state on five occasions.”

Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka “was invited but will not attend the conference, as it has nothing to do with promoting peace,” the embassy added.