Tel Aviv: The French government has informed the Israel Ministry of Defence (IMOD) of its decision to bar Israel’s official participation in the Eurosatory 2026 defence exhibition, scheduled to take place later this month in Paris. As a result, the IMOD will be unable to participate in the exhibition or establish a national pavilion.
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 defence industries to displaying air defence 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 defence exhibitions.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Defence, 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.
France, which prides itself on the values of liberty and democracy, is acting in direct contradiction to the principles it claims to uphold. It is hiding behind a pretense of political justification to exclude Israeli offensive defence 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 organisations and regimes threatening not only Israel, but regional and global stability at large.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
