France bars Israeli defense firms from Euronaval exhibition

French President Emmanuel Macron has done it again. Twelve Israeli defense companies that were to exhibit at the prestigious European Naval Defense Exhibition held from November 4-7 have been banned from appearing. This is the second time Macron has acted against Israeli defense companies after they were turned away from the Eurosatory defense and security exhibition in June.

74 Israeli defense companies had arranged to participate in Eurosatory, although a French court accepted their petition, but only ruled on June 19 during the week of the exhibition, meaning it was too late for them to make preparations for the actual show.

At Euronaval companies traditionally unveil new products and systems. At the previous show in 2022, the Israeli shipyard company took the opportunity to present the S80 Corvette.

Euronaval, which has been held for 50 years, expects 300 companies from 30 countries to participate this year. While France bans Israel, it allows Turkey to participate as well as companies from the United States, Germany, Brazil, Finland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Denmark and Greece.

In addition to banning Israeli companies from Eurosatory and Euronaval, Macron has had sharp disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli actions in both Gaza and Lebanon.

Macron recently called for an arms embargo against Israel. But such a step, apart from the diplomatic aspect, has no real significance for Israel’s conduct in the war. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), between 2019 and 2023 the United States accounted for 69% of Israel’s defense imports, Germany 30%, and Italy 0.9%. France and the rest of the world together represent 0.1% of Israel’s defense imports.

The largest Israeli defense companies Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael, as well as SIBAT, the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (Export) of the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD), received word of the French ban while on display at the AUSA – Association of the United States Army exhibition in Washington DC this week. Israeli companies are still scheduled to appear at the Paris Air Show in June 2025, but they may have to rethink if the war continues into next year.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on October 16, 2024.

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