Israel condemns black partition walls around its pavilions at Paris Air Show
Riot police officers patrol by the Israeli pavilions at the Paris Air Show , Monday, June 16, 2025 in Le Bourget, north of Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PARIS (AP) — French authorities ordered black partition walls erected around some Israeli defence industry exhibits at the Paris Air Show, a move denounced by Israel's Defense Ministry, which demanded an immediate reversal.
A French appeals court had ruled Friday against activist groups who sought to block Israeli companies from participating in the show due to the war in Gaza. The Paris Air Show, held at Le Bourget north of Paris, is one of the world's largest and most prestigious events for the aerospace and defence industry.
The black walls appeared overnight ahead of the show's opening Monday, visually isolating Israeli booths from dozens of other international exhibitors. The Israeli Defense Ministry said 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 official said the decision came from the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security, under the prime minister. The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the details.
The official said Israeli exhibitors were told weeks in advance that they couldn't exhibit certain types of equipment, and that the walls were erected as a last resort when five of them didn't comply. Four others did and are allowed to exhibit. The official did not elaborate on what kind of equipment was not allowed, or why.
Prime Minister François Bayrou officially opened the air show Monday, visiting several stands, and was expected to give a news conference later in the day.
Sylvain Pavillet, a lawyer working with the air show organizers, said the final decision on which countries are allowed to exhibit lies with the French government, not the show itself. 'We are not a state. We are a commercial company,'' he told the Associated Press.
The president and CEO of Israeli company IAI, Boaz Levy, said it has exhibited at the Paris Air Show for decades and had received authorizations to display its equipment.
''Last night, after our booth was set up and ready for the show, we were asked to remove some of our systems from the booth. We tried to negotiate with them, but it seems these orders came from the highest levels in Paris,'' he said in a statement. ''This morning, when we arrived at our booth, we were shocked to find out that we were blocked by black walls built overnight.''
Julia Frankel and Yesica Fisch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
John Leicester And Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press
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