France has banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons at the 2026 Eurosatory international defence and security exhibition, organisers said Monday. While the Israeli defence ministry denounced the "disgraceful decision", Eurosatory organisers said Israeli defence systems were authorised to participate, according to a French government decision.
Issued on: 01/06/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24
Israel's defence ministry said on Monday that France had banned Israeli government officials from a major weapons show in Paris, and had imposed restrictions on companies from the country exhibiting there.
The Israeli ministry denounced the move, saying it would "be unable to participate in the exhibition or establish a national pavilion".
"This is a disgraceful decision, one that reeks of political and commercial calculation, and regrettably, it comes as no surprise," the Israeli defence ministry spokesperson 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 organisers of the 2026 Eurosatory international defence and security exhibition said Israeli defence systems were authorised to participate in the major weapons show.
"Only Israeli exhibitors presenting anti-ballistic and anti-air defence systems are authorised," said the president of COGES Events, Charles Beaudouin, responding to an Israeli defence ministry statement that protested the restrictions.
"This is a decision by the French government, by the Defence Council," Beaudouin added.
"There is no room for ambiguity: if an exhibitor is also a rocket manufacturer, they will not be allowed to display them. This ensures that no offensive weapons are present," he said.
Tense French-Israeli relations
France's defence ministry – which barred Israel from taking part in the 2024 Eurosatory arms exhibition over the war in Gaza – later said Israeli companies would be limited to showing equipment and materials related to air defence and missile defence, but did not go into any detail on the reasons.
It did not address the report that Israeli officials would not be allowed to attend.
Israeli-French relations have deteriorated since late 2023, with Paris criticising Israel's conduct in its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the decision by Israel and the US to launch a war against Iran earlier this year.
Israel's right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also protested at President Emmanuel Macron's decision last year to recognise Palestinian statehood.
On Sunday, France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after the Israeli military seized the crusader-era Beaufort castle in Lebanon, flying its flag over the strategic landmark.
More than 2,600 exhibitors are due to take part in this year's Eurosatory – one of the world's largest weapons shows – which runs from June 15 to 19, at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre north of the capital.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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Israel-based Elbit Systems reported a $30bn order backlog in its latest quarterly results release in information seen by IntelliNews on June 2.
Despite coming under international pressure during the Iran war, it appears as if international customers are still relying on Israeli arms exports, with Elbit becoming Israel’s largest publicly traded company.
The backlog is distributed across a diversified revenue mix spanning C4I, cyber, ISTAR, electronic warfare, ammunition, unmanned aerial systems and lasers, with approximately 71% attributable to orders outside Israel. About 49% of the backlog is expected to be executed through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
Recent contract momentum has been substantial. On May 26, Elbit announced a $1.4bn deal with an unnamed European customer for extensive military modernisation programmes over five years, encompassing uncrewed autonomous solutions, advanced land electronic warfare, precision-guided munitions, electro-optical systems and software-defined radios, Breaking Defense Europe noted.
The scope of the programme points to a central or eastern European customer requiring deeper modernisation than established Western militaries.
That followed a $750mn contract in April, through Israel's Ministry of Defence, to supply Greece's Hellenic Ministry of National Defence with its PULS artillery system, and an August 2025 deal worth $1.63bn, with Israeli media reporting the customer as Serbia.
Domestically, a $130mn contract to supply technological enhancements for 12 CH-53K helicopters for Israel's Ministry of Defence reflects record Israeli defence spending since the Gaza war and the broader military campaign against Iran.
President and CEO Bezhalel Machlis said the company was scaling production capacity and increasing use of robotics and AI in automation. "With demand rising well above historical levels, we continue to focus on order execution," he said in the company’s press release.
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