The French Defense Ministry suggests that the decision is linked to Paris’ opposition to Israel’s continued invasion of Rafah.
France has banned Israeli companies from participating in the annual Eurosatory arms and defense industry fair to be held next month in Villepinte, near Paris, event organizers and French authorities said .
“By decision of government authorities, there will be no stand for the Israeli defense industry at the Eurosatory 2024 exhibition,” organizers Coges Events said on Friday.
The French defense ministry suggested the move was linked to Paris’ opposition to Israel’s continued assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.
“The conditions are no longer met to welcome Israeli companies to the show, at a time when the president is calling on Israel to cease its operations in Rafah“, the ministry told the Reuters news agency.
Seventy-four Israeli companies were expected to attend the June 17-21 event at the exhibition center near Paris’ main international airport, with Coges previously announcing that around ten of them would display weapons.
Last week, a group of activists issued a legal warning and urged Coges to take steps to avoid buying and selling weapons that could be used in “crimes” committed in Gaza or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory.
ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgence Palestine and the France-Palestine Solidarity Association also warned that profits from the fair would “strengthen the economic power of companies likely to participate in these crimes.”
Coges told the AFP news agency that it was “a show solely intended for the presentation of defense and security equipment… and in no case a place for transactions.”
Friday’s announcement comes just days after Israel bombed a camp for displaced people in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, triggering international outrage and large demonstrations in France.
President Emmanuel Macron also said he was “outraged” by the Israeli air raid which killed 45 people in the camp.
In previous weeks, France joined other Western countries in urging Israel not to invade Rafah, which has become home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forcibly displaced from other parts of Gaza.
Israel ignored these warnings and launched a major offensive against Rafah, displacing around a million people from the city. The assault, which saw Israeli forces take control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, also worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the highest court of the United Nations – ordered Israel put an end to its attacks against Rafah.
At least 36,284 Palestinians have been killed and 82,057 injured in the Israeli war on Gaza since October 7.
