Israel has blasted a French decision to block access to the stands of key Israeli defence companies at the Paris air show.
On the first morning of the biennial event, the display exhibits of major Israeli defence firms – and long running attendees of the Le Bourget air show – were blocked by black walls placed around their stands by event organisers. Israel says these were placed at the direction of the French government.
“Last night, just one day before the Paris air show opened in Le Bourget Airport, exhibition organisers acting on behalf of the French government ordered the removal of offensive weapons systems from Israeli defence industry pavilions - breaking with standard practise at defence exhibitions worldwide,” said Israel’s defence ministry.
The ministry alleges that Paris was motivated by commercial considerations, suggesting that it aims to shelter French arms makers from competition.
The large stands of Israeli heavyweight defence contractors such as Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Uvision have been blocked off with black walls, although the companies’ brands and logos are still clearly visible above.
The defence ministry called on the government and show organisers to “reverse this ugly and improper action,” and allow Israeli companies to display their systems.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was on site at Le Bourget and addressed the controversy: “The French government’s position was very simple: there shall be no display of offensive arms at the exhibition. Defensive weapons are allowed, but the display of offensive weapons was not possible.”
Bayrou notes that Paris believes that Israel had understood and agreed to these terms in advance. “However, some companies broke the deal.”
Despite the action taken against Israeli systems, manufacturers from other countries are freely displaying a range of combat aircraft and munitions. These included combat types in service with the Israeli air force, such as the Lockheed Martin F-35A and Boeing F-15.
US companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX have a substantial defence presence at Le Bourget, as do European arms manufacturers. Dassault Aviation is displaying a French air force Rafale fighter surrounded by a range of strike munitions in the static park.
Israeli executives blasted France’s decision.
“Following decades of participation in the Paris air show and discussions with the French authorities, we received all of the authorisations to participate in the air show and have done everything they requested from us,” says IAI president Boaz Levy.
“Last night, after our booth was set up and ready for the show, we were asked to remove some of our systems from the booth. We tried to negotiate with them, but it seems these orders came from the highest levels in Paris, and this morning, when we arrived at our booth, we were shocked to find out that we were blocked by black walls built overnight, which reminds us of the dark days of when Jews were segmented from European society.”
Noting that he is the son of a Holocaust survivor, Levy feels that Israel and Jewish people still face discrimination. He also points out that other defence companies are allowed to display their full range of munitions.
