Israel’s Gantz Requests Reversal of Decision to Ban Israeli Firms From French Arms Show

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has requested the French government reverse its decision to ban Israeli defense companies from participating in a trade show next month in Paris due to the war in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.

Gantz spoke with French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Friday.

The French government announced earlier in the day that it would not allow Israeli companies to participate in Eurosatory, one of the largest arms shows in the world.

“The conditions are no longer ripe for welcoming Israeli companies to the French show, at a time when the French president [Emmanuel Macron] is calling for an end to Israeli operations in Rafah,” an official from the French armed forces ministry told Politico in a statement.

Earlier this week, EU leaders including Macron denounced an Israeli air attack on Hamas targets that, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, also killed 46 displaced Palestinians in refugee tents in Rafah. Israel said the attack was a targeted strike against two Hamas terrorists, conducted using “the smallest munition” Israeli fighter jets can use. It added that the fire that broke out at the refugee camp was “unintended,” and that it was investigating the possibility that secondary explosions caused by Hamas-stored munitions in the area caused the blaze.

The arms show will take place from June 17 to 21 in Villepinte, in the Paris region.

In 2022, more than 1,700 exhibitors came from 62 different countries, including 62 percent from outside France. This year, about 2,000 companies registered to Eurosatory overall, including 74 from Israel, according to AFP.

The announcement from France comes as Israel’s international isolation is growing, particularly from the European Union.

Earlier this week, Spain, Norway, and Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, prompting outrage in Israel, whose foreign minister described the move as “incitement to genocide” against the Jewish people.

While France did not join in the recognition, it has signaled that it may do so in the future.

Earlier this month, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said the conditions to officially recognize a Palestinian state have not yet been met.

“Our position is clear: the recognition of Palestine is not taboo for France,” Séjourné said in a statement.

“This is not just a symbolic issue or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic tool in the service of the solution of two states living side by side in peace and security,” he continued. “France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process.”