Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry said French authorities barred<\/a> Israel from establishing a national pavilion or sending government representatives to Eurosatory, while allowing Israeli firms to exhibit only air defense systems and banning the display of offensive weapons.<\/p>\n At the time, the Defense Ministry panned the exhibition organizers\u2019 decision, saying that the move was driven by \u201cpolitical and commercial calculation,\u201d accusing France of applying discriminatory restrictions to Israel that are not imposed on other participating countries \u201cin direct violation of the established norms governing international defense exhibitions.\u201d<\/p>\n \t This year\u2019s Eurosatory is not the first time France has restricted Israel from participating in weapons expos. French authorities also initially banned<\/a> Israeli defense firms from exhibiting at the 2024 Eurosatory, before later reversing the decision.<\/p>\n Similarly, organizers erected<\/a> black partitions around Israeli company exhibits displaying offensive weapons systems at the 2025 Paris Air Show.<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s development came amid growing tensions between Jerusalem and Paris. On June 7, France was said to be working with several countries to step up pressure<\/a> on Israel by advancing coordinated national sanctions targeting individuals linked to violence in the West Bank.<\/p>\n Two days later, Paris announced it had barred<\/a> Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers from entering the country, as a number of countries introduced fresh sanctions against settlers and organizations deemed to be responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.<\/p>\n In April, the Defense Ministry halted<\/a>\u00a0all defense procurement from France in response to French measures that it said \u201charmed Israel\u2019s security,\u201d including prohibiting Israeli aircraft from using French airspace during the US-led war on Iran.<\/p>\n \t The US also claimed that France refused it the use of its airspace for military purposes during the war.<\/p>\n Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Israel\u2019s defense establishment during the Iran war, openly condemning<\/a>\u00a0the scale of the US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic, and urging a diplomatic solution to the conflict and a halt to fighting in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.<\/p>\n Further straining France\u2019s relationship with Israel is its exclusion from mediating direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington.<\/p>\n The absence is not for lack of interest, with Macron offering in March for his country to host direct talks between Israel and Lebanon and telling President Isaac Herzog over the phone that \u201cFrance is working to promote this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tWooden panels erected around Israeli defense industry booths at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris by event organizers, June 15, 2026. (Defense Ministry)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP24169339779397-e1718619313915-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tProtesters gather outside the Eurosatory exhibition, a global event for Defence and Security, in Villepinte, outside Paris, June 17, 2024. The banner reads: \u2018Arms dealers accomplices.\u2019 (AP Photo\/Masha Macpherson)<\/p>\n
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