Israeli companies’ absence from defence fair sparks controversy Macron faces backlash

Israeli companies will not be represented at Eurosatory 2024, the international arms and defence industry exhibition opening in Paris on June 17. An anonymous source in a major French defence company told i24news that this is the decision of the French authorities.

Meanwhile, it is known that 74 Israeli companies were to present their products at the exhibition. “We are very disappointed with this situation. With our Israeli partners we historically have trusting relations. This decision is wrong, but it was taken by the French authorities,” said the French representative.

How did Israel feel about this behavior of Paris? How can it affect relations between the countries? Caliber.Az asked Israeli experts to answer these questions.

Thus, in the opinion of an Israeli officer and military analyst Yigal Levin, it is still difficult to say how Israel will react to France’s actions. According to him, France loses more from the absence of Israeli manufacturers at the exhibition, since Israeli military technology was the most interesting and significant part of the defence exhibition.

“This game that Paris has decided to play is purely of a temporary opportunistic nature. The French will have a good time, and then in a year they will invite Israeli manufacturers again. Because Europe needs our military technologies, and they understand it perfectly well. This is such a political gesture - slamming the door, but in terms of real relations, it seems to me, everything will go back to normal as soon as it gets quieter in the region,” Levin noted.

As for Yuri Bocharov, Israeli political scientist, PhD in political science, the events surrounding the non-admission of Israeli defence companies to the Eurosatory exhibition, which is to be held in France in this June, did not surprise anyone. After all, everyone knows the anti-Israeli rhetoric of French President Macron because of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip in general and the Rafah operation in particular.

“France also expressed support for the decision of the attorney general of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Galant, so Paris is quite consistently demonstrating its negative line towards Israel,” the pundit noted.

According to him, Macron has recently been trying to play the role of Europe's “biggest” hawk; he is ready to send NATO troops to the Ukrainian front without looking, ready to “rearm” Armenia in its confrontation with Azerbaijan, flirting with China in opposition to America, and, of course, “forcing” Israel with the whole world.

“Macron is ready to deal with everything as long as he doesn't have to deal with domestic problems, although the ‘ban’ on Israel's participation in the military exhibition is likely to help the French military-industrial complex as one of the competitors with Israeli products. It is worth noting that at least 74 Israeli companies were to take part in the exhibition. The exhibition is considered one of the world's largest arms shows with a special focus on air defence. This is precisely the subject where Israel excels, and therefore is a competitor,” the political scientist added.

"What would happen if Israel declared that it was ignoring the exhibition in France in connection with the Paris police action against the indigenous inhabitants of New Caledonia?" Bocharov wonders.

“Unfortunately, many European leaders have lowered the bar of communication with Israel to please their pro-Arab electorate. However, so far this has had no effect on Israel's decision to continue its mission to release hostages and destroy the Hamas terrorist structure. At the same time, the European military-industrial complex is developing without regard for its rulers.

Thus, back in February of this year, after EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called for an arms embargo on Israel because of the war in Gaza, Israel's Elbit Systems won a $300 million contract to supply armored vehicle systems to one of a European country. The contract includes weapons, reconnaissance, driving and situational awareness systems for some 230 armored vehicles.

So Macron's demarche has remained in Israel without much attention, especially since reports for the first quarter of this year show the huge success of Israel's military-industrial complex in the world. For example, defence concern Elbit alone recorded an 11 per cent increase in sales in the first quarter of this year, reaching revenues of $1.554 billion. About 71 per cent of the company's total orders are from customers outside Israel. About 51 per cent of total orders are scheduled to be fulfilled in 2024 and 2025. As the proverb says, “everyone is a blacksmith of their own fate”! And so it is with Macron - his desire to become the new “Napoleon” of Europe will cost him dearly and will most likely lead him, if not to the island of Elba, then to Ward No 6. But this is no longer our problem,” Bocharov concluded.