France closes Israeli companies

Le Bourget, France – Geopolitical tensions toured the opening of the Paris air program on Monday while the French authorities sealed the cabins of the Israeli weapons industry in the middle of the Conflicts in Iran and Gazaa movement that Israel condemned as “scandalous.”

The decision added drama to the main event of the aerospace industry, which was already in the shadow of the deadly accident last week of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Black walls were installed around the stands of five Israeli defense firms at the Le Bourget trade fair, an aviation field on the outskirts of Paris.

The cabins showed “offensive weapons” that could be Used in Gaza – In violation of the agreements with the Israeli authorities, said a source from the French government to the News.

Companies, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, Uvision, Elbit and Aerononics, do drones and bombs and guided missiles.

An Israeli exhibitor wrote a message in yellow chalk on one of the walls, saying that hidden defense systems “are protecting the state of Israel these days. The French government, on behalf of discrimination, is trying to hide them from you!”

The French official says that Israeli offensive weapons “prohibited in the middle of the war in Gaza

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou defended the decision during a press conference on Monday at the Air Show.

“The position of the French government was very simple: there are no offensive weapons in the exhibition of arms,” ​​he said. “Defensive weapons were perfectly acceptable.”

Bayrou cited the ongoing conflict in Gaza as the reason behind the ban.

“Given the diplomatic elections of France, in particular the concern, or in any case, very great concerns about Gaza, we could not demonstrate that there was a certain distance, which meant that we did not think it was acceptable that offensive weapons were in a program like that,” said Bayrou. “And since these offensive weapons were not withdrawn [by the Israeli companies]we have temporarily, I hope, closed the stands. “

In the last show of Paris Air in 2023, Israeli companies, including at least one that was subject to the closing of their position on Monday, seem to have shown offensive weapons, including bombs and rockets guided with laser and attack drones.

Aviation News Outlet Flight Global reported from the program on Monday that, despite Bayrour’s description of a prohibition of offensive weapons samples, “manufacturers from other countries freely show a range of combat airplanes and ammunition, which included an exhibition of the French property company Dassault Aviation with a” combat of the French Air Force. Municipalities strike “.” “.” “.” “.” “.” “.” “.” “

Israel calls France’s decision to close positions “scandalous and unprecedented”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was shocked by the “scandalous” closure of the pavilions and said the situation should “correlate immediately.”

“Israeli companies have signed contracts with the organizers … It’s like creating an Israeli ghetto,” LCI said on the French television channel.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the “scandalous and unprecedented decision stinks from commercial and commercial 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. “This is particularly surprising given the impressive and precise performance of Israeli technologies in Iran.”

Israel launched surprise attacks in Iranian military and nuclear sites early on Friday, killing the main commanders and scientists, inciting Tehran to return a blow with a missile flood.

Arkansas Republican governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was in the Paris show on Monday and, talking with journalists, described the decision of the “quite absurd” French officials. His father is Mike Huckabee, the current ambassador of the United States in Israel and a firm sponsor of the ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza.

The presence of Israeli companies in Le Bourget, although smaller than in the past, was already a source of tension before the start of the Paris Show Air, due to the conflict in Gaza.

Last week, a French court rejected an offer from NGOs to prohibit Israeli companies from Le Bourget for concerns about “international crimes.”

The local legislators of the Sené-Saint-Denis department who welcomed the event were absent during Bayrou’s visit to the opening of the Air Show in protest of the Israeli presence.

“The world has never been so interrupted and destabilized,” Bayrou said in a round table event, urging nations to face challenges “together, not one against the other.”

Boeing focuses on the support, not on sales in Paris Air Show after Air India Crash

The row over Israel threw a shadow on a commercial fair that is generally dominated by the exhibitions of the latest flying wonders of the aerospace industry and large orders for Airbus and Boeing aircraft manufacturers.

Airbus announced an order of 30 A320e aircraft of A320 and 10 A350F charges for the Saudi aircraft lease firm Avilase. The European manufacturer also said that Riad Air was buying 25 A350-1000 long-range and wide body.

The executive director of Boeing, Kelly Ortberg, canceled last week to attend the Biennial event, to focus on the investigation of the Air India accident.

“Our approach is to support our customers, instead of announcing orders in this aerial show,” a Boeing spokeswoman told News News on Monday.

The Dreamliner bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff in the western city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 passengers and crew and another 38 on the ground. A passenger survived.

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