"Overnight, the management of the Eurosatory exhibition boarded up Israeli defense industry pavilions — despite these companies having met the French government’s outrageous demands and displayed solely defensive systems," the Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Israeli Ministry of Defense: accusations of discrimination
The Ministry of Defense characterized the move by show management as "a cynical, discriminatory, and unsurprising move aimed at shutting Israeli technology out of an international exhibition." The ministry reiterated that exhibitors had complied with French conditions and framed the action as politically and commercially motivated, saying it will "continue driving Israeli defense exports to new global heights, despite French efforts to conceal Israeli technological superiority from the world."
Eurosatory organizers and French government restrictions
Organizers Coges Events told Breaking Defense that exhibitors were restricted to showing "material and products exclusively linked to anti-air and anti-ballistic missile capacities." The organizer added that certain stands "have been closed because they did not respect the conditions of participation in the exhibition defined by the French authorities." Earlier this month, the Israeli MoD said the French government had banned official participation by the Israeli government at Eurosatory and limited Israeli firms to air defense products only, with "offensive systems explicitly excluded."
Booths and displays: what Elbit, IAI, Rafael, and other firms presented
On the show floor, some large Israeli contractors such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) kept open booths but with notably constrained displays. Elbit exhibited a large promotional video of its directed energy systems in action, according to the coverage. Rafael’s large booth was open and displayed a directed energy air defense system but contained little else.
Other Israeli firms found their stands fully boarded up by temporary walls. Those closed booths included companies described in reporting as specialists in tactical gear, electro-optical control capabilities systems and fire control systems. Michael Edelstein, Elbit Systems’ vice president of strategy and business development in North America, told Breaking Defense that the company had prepared for restrictions yet still had to remove an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system from its display area after a visit from show organizers.
Precedent and context: actions in 2024 and 2025, and the Berlin Air Show
The boarding of stands at Eurosatory echoes earlier actions taken against Israeli firms at the Paris Air Show in 2025. Reporting also notes a more recent neighboring event: Eurosatory is taking place a week after the Berlin Air Show. At the Berlin event, aside from pro-Palestinian protestors blocking the road on the first day of that show, there was "little geopolitical controversy," and Israeli firms displayed their wares as usual.
The French government has publicly tied its policy toward Israeli participation in exhibitions to Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where, the reporting says, Israeli military operations "have killed tens of thousands in an effort to root out the militant group Hamas following its deadly terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023." The linkage is cited as the basis for restrictions placed on Israeli government participation and on the range of products Israeli vendors may show.
How the Israeli MoD, Elbit Systems, and Coges Events are responding
- Israeli Ministry of Defense: The ministry issued a public condemnation, called the French demand "outrageous," and framed the booth closures as discriminatory while pledging to press on with export efforts.
- Elbit Systems: Michael Edelstein said the company had prepared for restrictions but still removed an ISR system after a show-organizer visit. Edelstein also suggested the measures may reflect commercial protectionism, saying Israeli industry has been "very successful" worldwide and that the French are "trying to act against us."
- Rafael: A company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rafael is "operating as usual" and "continuing" planned meetings and forthcoming announcements despite a reduced public display.
- Coges Events / French authorities: The organizer pointed to the French-defined conditions limiting displays to anti-air and anti-ballistic missile capacities and cited noncompliance as the reason for closing certain stands.
The dispute at Eurosatory stitches together short-term event management decisions and longer-running diplomatic tensions. Show organizers cite compliance with French government rules; the Israeli Ministry of Defense and some company officials see discrimination and, in Elbit’s case, potential commercial motives. For now, several high-profile Israeli booths remain open in limited form — with directed energy and air-defense items visible — while other stands are walled off entirely. Whether the episode becomes an isolated enforcement of participation rules or the opening salvo in a broader restriction on Israeli participation at international shows will be determined by follow-up decisions by the French authorities, Eurosatory management, and the affected firms.
