Israel furious as France shuts weapons stands at Paris Airshow

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

5:31 PM EDT EDT Updated 12 hours ago


PARIS/JERUSALEM, June 16 (Reuters) - France shut down the main Israeli company stands at the Paris Airshow on Monday for refusing to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel and inflaming tensions between the traditional allies.

Stands including those of Elbit Systems (ESLT.TA), Rafael, IAI and Uvision were blocked off with black partitions before the start of the world's biggest aviation trade fair. Smaller Israeli stands, which did not have hardware on display, and an Israeli Ministry of Defence stand, remained open. France, a long-time Israeli ally, has gradually hardened its position on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu over its actions in Gaza and military interventions abroad.

French President Emmanuel Macron made a distinction last week between Israel’s right to protect itself, which France supports and could take part in, and strikes on Iran it did not recommend. The office of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said it had told all exhibitors ahead of the show that offensive weapons would be prohibited from display and that Israel's embassy in Paris had agreed to this. It added that the companies could resume their exhibits if they complied with this requirement.

Bayrou told reporters that given France's diplomatic stance, and "in particular its ... very great concern about Gaza", the government had felt it unacceptable for attack weapons to be on show. But Israel's defence ministry reacted with fury. "This outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations," it said in a statement. "The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition - weapons that compete with French industries." The ministry later added it was filing court petitions against the decision.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/organisers-shut-four-main-israeli-company-stands-paris-airshow-israel-says-2025-06-16/

[RockRaven]

1. "reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations" -- self-aware wolves much?

[riversedge]

2. Boys [and gals] and their Toys are destroying Mother Earth.

[Jit423]

3. Good for France. You mean they can't shut down stuff in their own country?

Haiti is having all its killing now thanks to the barrage of weapons, even military-grade weapons, that are being smuggled in from Florida, the southern weapons railway. The weapons border is the real border that should be shut down and its operators locked up. The US and Israel both are responsible for 90% of the global gun issues, with most of it in the US and third world countries.

[Bayard]

4. The weapons border is the real border

And its one-way, with US guns going into Mexico. We are the criminals.

[Mosby]

7. France is the second-largest arms exporter in the world, following the United States.

They shut down a competitor at their own show.

Wonder how many laws they are breaking.

[twodogsbarking]

6. The world is becoming a contest to see who can kill people better than any other country.

Not all countries are contestants.

[msongs]

8. seems like devices to shoot down planes are out of place at an air show to market planes nt