{"id":297647,"date":"2025-06-16T19:48:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/israel-weapons-display-shut-down-at-paris-air-show-causing-drama\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T19:48:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:48:37","slug":"israel-weapons-display-shut-down-at-paris-air-show-causing-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=297647","title":{"rendered":"Israel Weapons Display Shut Down At Paris Air Show, Causing Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Paris Air Show is the world\u2019s largest aviation trade fair, and it kicked off today. While I mainly cover the commercial aviation side of this, there\u2019s also a military aspect to the event. Along those lines, the biggest headline<\/a> coming out of the event today doesn\u2019t involve Riyadh Air\u2019s A350 order<\/a> or LOT Polish Airlines\u2019 A220 order<\/a>, but instead, conflict over Israeli displays.<\/p>\n

France blocks Israeli weapons stands at Paris Air Show<\/h2>\n

France has today shut down the display stands of the main Israeli defense companies at the Paris Air Show, including for Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI, and Uvision. However, the parties disagree as to how reasonable this decision was, and whether this was communicated in advance.<\/p>\n

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou claims to have told all exhibitors ahead of the event that offensive weapons would be prohibited from display, and claims that Israel\u2019s embassy in Paris had agreed to this. He claims that Israeli companies violated the rules, and they could resume their exhibits if they comply with this requirement.<\/p>\n

Bayrou told reporters that this decision was made based on France\u2019s diplomatic stance, and in particular, its \u201cvery great concern about Gaza.\u201d Therefore the government felt it was unacceptable to show attack weapons at the show.<\/p>\n

The booths were shut down by large black partitions being placed in front of them. It\u2019s worth noting that smaller Israeli stands, which didn\u2019t have hardware on display, plus the Israeli Ministry of Defense stand, remained open.<\/p>\n

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Overnight, organizers of the French arms exhibition “Le Salon A\u00e9rien” blocked off the Israeli defense industry booths with a black wall \u2014 separating them from the rest of the exhibition.<\/p>\n

The French government requested Israel to remove \u201coffensive weapons\u201d from its displays. pic.twitter.com\/ozytsUIjkr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

One Israeli company, Elbit Systems, responded to the decision to put up a black partition by writing text on it \u2014 \u201cOUR PRODUCTS ARE SO GOOD THAT THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT DOESN\u2019T WANT YOU TO SEE THEM.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Israel calls decision outrageous and unprecedented<\/h2>\n

Israel\u2019s defense ministry is calling this decision \u201coutrageous and unprecedented,\u201d and states that \u201cthe decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations.\u201d The ministry went on to add that \u201cthe French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition \u2014 weapons that compete with French industries.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a key point, because Israel seems to think that France is just trying to avoid competition. The ministry is filing court petitions against the decision, and claims that the black partitions that were placed in front of these displays are reminiscent of \u201cthe dark days of when Jews were segmented from European society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bezhalel Machlis, CEO of Elbit Systems, one of the exhibitors, said the following:<\/p>\n

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\u201cSixty years after Elbit Systems was founded \u2014 on the eve of the Six-Day War and in the shadow of the French arms embargo \u2014 we are once again witnessing a blatant and aggressive act by the French Government. This embarrassing attempt to \u2018conceal\u2019 Elbit Systems\u2019 groundbreaking technology behind a fictitious cover will prove futile \u2014 just as it did 60 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur world-leading technology continues to prove itself operationally and commercially, with growing demand across Europe and beyond. Elbit Systems remains committed to global leadership, innovation, and partnership. \u2018But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.\u2019 (Exodus 1:12)\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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At the @salondubourget<\/a>, Walls were built overnight\u2014not to protect, but to hide.<\/p>\n

Elbit Systems and other Israeli defense companies arrived to find their booths physically blocked from view. This was not a technical glitch. It was a deliberate act, carried out under political\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/EPDkfZX8nH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Elbit Systems (@ElbitSystemsLtd) June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Bottom line<\/h2>\n

An Israeli weapons display at the Paris Air Show is causing a bit of a diplomatic spat. France claims that it warned vendors that they couldn\u2019t display certain weapons, and that the Israeli embassy agreed to that. Israel largely denies this, and claims that France is simply trying to protect its own industries, and avoid competition.<\/p>\n

This is now even being litigated, but for the time being, the displays have been blocked off. Talk about some drama\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n