France bans Israeli companies from top naval warfare show

PARIS — France has decided to ban Israeli companies from the Euronaval trade show that kicks off in early November, one person with first-hand knowledge of the issue told POLITICO.
Israeli delegations will be able to attend the event but contractors cannot showcase their military equipment at booths, the person added after being granted anonymity to discuss a matter that isn’t public yet.
The French Euronaval ban is the latest row in a series of diplomatic fallouts between President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel’s military ramps up its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
The decision was made Tuesday and first reported by The Wall Street Journal. It’s the second time in only a few months that Israel’s defense firms have been barred from participating in an arms fair in France.
Back in June, Paris banned them from attending Eurosatory — one of the world’s biggest arms fairs for the land armament sector. A court later overturned the decision, but too late for the Israeli firms to actually come.
Euronaval, which will take place from Nov. 4 to 7 in the Paris suburbs, is one of Europe’s largest trade shows focused on naval warfare and will feature companies including BAE Systems, Naval Group, Fincantieri and KNDS. According to the show’s website, seven Israeli defense contractors were slated to show off their products, including heavyweights such as Rafael, Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.
In recent weeks, Macron has urged countries several times to stop weapons deliveries to the Israeli government if the arms are used in Gaza and Lebanon, and said behind closed doors on Tuesday that Netanyahu should not “ignore United Nations decisions” because “his country was created by a U.N. decision.” Both interventions prompted outrage from Netanyahu.
The Elysée Palace didn’t reply to a request for comment.