According to the statement, the French decision includes a ban on Israeli government representatives attending the exhibition and a ban on opening an Israeli national pavilion. It also restricts Israeli defence industries to displaying air defence products only, while explicitly excluding offensive systems.
The ministry said the policy was being applied selectively and in a discriminatory manner compared with other participating countries. It said the decision was “in direct violation of the established norms governing international defence exhibitions.”
“This is a disgraceful decision, one that reeks of political and commercial calculation, and regrettably, it comes as no surprise,” the ministry said. “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.”
The statement said France, which presents itself as a country committed to liberty and democracy, was acting against the principles it says it upholds. It accused France of using “a pretense of political justification” to exclude Israeli offensive defence systems from an international forum.
The ministry said those systems had proved “far superior to their French counterparts” and had shown “exceptional precision and effectiveness” against terrorist organisations and regimes. It said such threats were directed not only at Israel, but also at regional and global stability more broadly.
