The Defense Ministry announced on Monday that France had blocked select Israeli defense companies from presenting their products at the EUROSATORY exhibition in Paris, despite granting them space at the exhibition, after the companies committed to abide by a discriminatory policy that allowed Israelis to present defensive, but not offensive, weapons.
A video distributed by the ministry showed that, overnight before the launch of the exhibits, French workers had arrived for a special operation to board up certain Israeli companies' exhibits.
The Jerusalem Post is seeking a French response to why the boarding up was carried out, and why with certain Israeli companies and not others.
According to the ministry, "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."
"This 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.
Policy applied discriminatorily and selectively, a 'disgraceful decision'
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," said the ministry.
On June 1, the French government informed the ministry that it was barring Israel’s official participation in the EUROSATORY defense exhibition.
This meant that the government and the ministry were unable to participate in the exhibition or establish a national pavilion.
According to the ministry statement on June 1, "The French decision encompasses: a ban on government representatives attending the exhibition; a ban on opening an Israeli national pavilion; and a restriction limiting Israeli defense industries to displaying air defense products only, with offensive systems explicitly excluded."
"This policy is applied selectively and discriminatorily relative to other participating nations - in direct violation of the established norms governing international defense exhibition,' said the ministry.
Despite the ban on the Israeli government and offensive weapons, many Israeli companies were expected to have their own smaller private desks to present defensive weapons.
The ministry said, "This is a disgraceful decision, one that reeks of political and commercial calculation, and regrettably, it comes as no surprise. It fits a deeply troubling pattern in French conduct in recent years - a pattern that has consistently placed France on the wrong side of history."
Further, the ministry said that France, "is hiding behind a pretense of political justification to exclude Israeli offensive defense systems from an international forum - systems that have proven far superior to their French counterparts, and that have demonstrated exceptional precision and effectiveness against terrorist organizations and regimes threatening not only Israel, but regional and global stability at large."
Aim to delegitimize through unfair and competitive actions
Israeli sources have said that France's moves against Israel in the defense field, where other countries have not moved against Israel, are motivated both by delegitimization and by a desire to undermine Jerusalem as a competitor.
Sources also expect non-democratic countries, some of whom are feared as potential international aggressors, to be able to present offensive weapons, despite Israel's exclusion.
Recently, Israel canceled a visit by France's top defense ministry officials to Israel in protest of French policy on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
While France has been critical of Israeli policy on Gaza and Lebanon, and in 2026 also regarding Iran, twice in 2024, France helped shoot down Iranian missiles and drones fired at the Jewish state.
Already feeling the heat, Israeli participation saw a dramatic reduction. Two years ago, 74 Israeli companies participated in Eurosatory, while fewer than 40 registered to take part this year.
The Israeli defense companies with boarded-up booths were Aeronautics, Marom Dolphin, SmartShooter, Controp, Orbit Communication Systems LTD., Paxis Advanced Ceramic Solutions, Gilat Defense, Source Tactical Gear, and OSG.
Defense & Tech by the Post understands that Aeronautics, which manufactures various unmanned aerial systems, including loitering munitions, had a clean booth with only clean screens and no models.
Controp, which develops and manufactures long-range electro-optical cameras, representatives of the company wrote on the board blocking their booth, "Controp's long-range EO cameras defeated Iranian ballistic missiles but lost to French short-sightedness." Controp President and CEO Yuval Miller wrote on LinkedIn that the boarding up of the Israeli companies at Eurosatory came shortly before a ceasefire between the US and Iran.
"This morning at Eurosatory. French authorities decided to block our booth. It seems that even EO sensors used strictly for air defense are forbidden by the French government. With the US-Iranian ceasefire minutes away, one could wonder whose side are they on?" he wrote.
The large Israeli defense companies - Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, IAI-Israel Aerospace Industries, and Elbit Systems - continued to show off their platforms. D&T understands that the companies are prepared to showcase only defensive systems as required by the French.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.