The arms and defense technology exhibition, one of the largest in the world, opened its doors on Monday June 17 in Paris, but without a delegation from Israel. This Tuesday, June 18, the Paris commercial court ordered the Coges company, organizer of the show, to suspend the ban on the participation of Israeli manufacturers.
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At the end of May, after the deadly bombing of a displaced persons camp in Rafah, the French government chose to disinvite Israeli defense companies. The France-Israel Chamber of Commerce had taken legal action urgently. This morning, the Paris commercial court ordered them to be reinstated.
This decision comes too late for Israeli manufacturers to really set up their stands in Villepinte, believes Henri Cukierman, president of the France-Israel Chamber of Commerce. He is still delighted with a victory in principle.
“ Obviously, I get satisfaction from it. What is incredible is that Israeli companies were excluded. We are in full delirium, we are at a trade fair, it was not a political event. This is Banana Republic behavior, he judges. For us, the problem was one of principle. The probability that they will actually arrive with products does not exist. But for me it’s something absolutely dramatic. Israelis could not enter the lounge, and for example, an American born in Israel could not enter the lounge. The last time this sort of thing happened was around the time of World War II. »
The war in Gaza in the background
On the side of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, we recall that it has never requested a total ban on people of Israeli nationality from the show. France, like international justice, has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza for months. An argument that Henri Cukierman does not want to hear. “ We must not confuse everything. We can very well criticize a government and not conclude that companies should be excluded from an international trade fair. »
And on the fact that Eurosatory is an international arms exhibition: “ And you believe that today armament is not something that is very important? After Ukraine, we find ourselves in a boy scout world! », replies Henri Cukierman.
Coincidentally with the timing, the investigative NGO Disclose also published this morning an investigation showing that until very recently the French state had approved the delivery of electronic equipment equipping Israeli army drones.
Read alsoEurosatory arms fair opens amid boycott of Israeli companies