France bans Israeli firms from exhibiting at upcoming defence fair
World
France has banned Israeli companies from participating in this year's annual defence fair.
PARIS (AFP) - France has banned Israeli companies from participating in this year's annual Eurosatory arms and defence industry exhibition in Villepinte near Paris next month, the event's organisers and the French Defence Ministry said on Friday.
"Following a decision by government authorities, there will not be an Israeli stand at the Eurosatory 2024 salon," a spokesperson for the organisers said via email.
The Defence Ministry told Reuters that: "Conditions are no longer met to host Israeli companies at the show at a time when the President is calling for Israel to cease operations in Rafah."
Seventy-four Israeli firms had been set to be represented at the event from June 17 to 21 at fairgrounds close to Paris' main international airport, with Coges previously saying around 10 of them were to exhibit weapons.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli embassy said it did not wish to comment.
The incident comes days after the Israeli bombing of a camp for the displaced in the Gaza Strip sparked international outrage and protests in France.
President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" by the air strike that triggered a fire killing 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan tent city of Rafah, almost eight months into the latest Gaza war.
The conflict erupted after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
A group of activists last week in a legal warning urged Coges to take measure to avoid the buying and selling of weapons that could be used in "crimes" committed in Gaza or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgency Palestine and the France-Palestine Solidarity Association also warned against profits from the fair "reinforcing the economic power of firms likely to participate in these crimes".
Coges told AFP it was "a fair solely for the presentation of defence and security equipment ... and in no means a place for deals".
