PARIS (AP) — Israel’s Ministry of Defense has condemned the erection of black partition walls around its defense industry pavilions at the Paris Air Show, calling the move “outrageous and unprecedented” and demanding an immediate reversal by French authorities and event organizers.
The walls appeared overnight ahead of the air show’s opening Monday, visually isolating Israeli booths from dozens of other international exhibitors. Israeli officials say the move followed a last-minute demand from organizers to remove offensive weapons systems from display — a request they rejected.
“The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition — weapons that compete with French industries,” the ministry said in a statement Monday, calling the action “ugly and improper.”
A French appeals court ruled Friday against activist groups who sought to block Israeli companies from participating in the show due to the war in Gaza. Despite the legal green light, Israel says it was effectively censored.
Sylvain Pavillet, a lawyer working with the air show organizers, said the final decision on who is allowed to exhibit lies with the French government, not the show itself.
“The fair is not the one who decides which countries are allowed to go to the show or not,” he told The Associated Press. “That decision belongs to the government. We are not a state. We are a commercial company.”
The Paris Air Show, held at Le Bourget Airport, is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious events for the aerospace and defense industry.
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