On Monday, June 1, 2026, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that the French government had banned the official participation of the State of Israel at the 29th edition of Eurosatory 2026, the international defense industry exhibition organized by Coges Events, which will be held on June 15–19 this year at Paris-Nord Villepinte, near Paris.
Images: Coges Events
“The French government has informed the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) of its decision to bar Israel’s official participation in the EUROSATORY defense 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 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 exhibitions.
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 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.”
Israel Ministry of Defense
Earlier reports from April this year had referred to plans for the participation of more than 30 Israeli companies and the organization of a national pavilion by SIBAT, the International Defense Cooperation Directorate at the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Interestingly, the French authorities made a similar decision in 2024, ahead of the previous edition of Eurosatory, which is held every two years. At the time, the organizer, Coges Events, part of the GICAT association (Le Groupement des Industries Françaises de Défense et de Sécurité terrestres et aéroterrestres), announced that the French Ministry of the Armed Forces had excluded 74 Israeli defense and security companies from participating.
The reason was said to be the State of Israel’s policy toward civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Although the Paris Commercial Court found the ban discriminatory and overturned it on June 18, 2024, the decision came too late, as the exhibition was already under way.
ממשלת צרפת הודיעה למשרד הביטחון על החלטתה לאסור על השתתפות רשמית של מדינת ישראל בתערוכת EUROSATORY שעתידה להתקיים בהמשך החודש בפריז. כתוצאה מכך, משרד הביטחון לא יוכל להשתתף בתערוכה ולא יוכל להקים בה ביתן לאומי.
להמשך קריאה: https://t.co/ouuJnNte3G
— משרד הביטחון (@MoDIsrael) June 1, 2026
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