Attendees pass through the Israeli Pavillon of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) during the 55th edition of the Paris International Show at Parisle Bourget airport, in Le Bourget, a suburb of Paris on June 16, 2025.
Alain jocard | AFP | Getty images
The stands of at least two main Israeli defense firms were blocked before the attendees in the Paris Air show on Monday, in a movement that Israel said that the French government ordered a dispute over the exhibitions.
They were placed together around the pavilions of companies, including Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) systems, which showed examples of military hardware. Rafael and Uvision’s cabins were also closed, according to Reuters. CNBC has not independently verified this report.
“Last night, just one day before the Paris air program opened at the Le Bourget airport, the organizers of the exhibition acting on behalf of the French government ordered the elimination of offensive weapons systems of the pavilions of the Israeli defense industry, which broke with standard practice in world defense exhibitions,” said the Ministry of Defense of Israel in a statement.
The Ministry said that it had told the organizers of the air program that rejected the demand, and that the conference personnel responded by erecting black walls during the night, blocking the pavilions for the beginning of the event on Monday.
“This scandalous and unprecedented decision stinks from commercial and policy -based considerations … The French hide behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition, weapons that compete with the French industries,” he said.
An exhibition of drones in the area of ​​Elbit Systems Ltd. within the Israel Aerospace Pavilion at the Paris Air Show in Paris, France, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty images
CNBC has contacted the organizers of Paris Air Show and the French government to comment.
Israeli defense firms have been promoting new products that will be presented at the Paris event, one of the largest in the world of aviation, such as the Paws-2 infrared missile warning system (HR) of Elbit.
Defense is an important approach in Paris this year in the midst of geopolitical tensions and promises and promises for a higher European security expense, along with a relatively moderate demand by commercial airlines to place new important orders given the existing arrears.
Other defense companies present at the show include Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the European MBDA missile manufacturer and the Chinese Aviation Industry Corporation, while hundreds of military delegations will attend.
A black wall blocks Israel’s aerospace pavilions, including Elbit Systems Ltd., at Paris Air Show in Paris, France, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty images
“Last night, after our stand was prepared and ready for the show, we were asked to eliminate some of our cabin systems,” said the president and CEO of IAI, Boaz Levy, in a statement.
“We try to negotiate with them, but it seems that these orders come from the highest levels of Paris,” said Levy, added that the company had received authorization to participate in the program and complied with the requests of the organizers. The IAI team was blocked from entering the cabin, he said.
Levy said he was “shocked” by the decision and alleged discrimination.
The measure occurs in the midst of the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, with mortal air strikes among countries that continue for the fourth day on Monday. Israel launched a series of strikes on Friday of locations that, he said, were related to Iran’s nuclear program, killing several senior military officials.
Meanwhile, the government of France and President Emmanuel Macron have increased their criticisms to Israel for their ongoing military operation in Gaza in recent months, with a joint statement from the United Kingdom, France and Canada in May, they qualify the level of human suffering “intolerable.”
– Charlotte Reed of CNBC contributed to this report.
