Israel has been barred from participating in the international defence expo in Paris, Eurosatory 2024, after a court ruled on Saturday that all Israeli participants will be excluded.
The French district court in Bobigny stated it ruled on the grounds that Israeli companies and their representatives might act "as intermediaries for Israeli arms firms" in one of the world's largest arms shows.
It directed the organisers to display the decision at the entrances of the Villepinte Exhibition Centre, located near Paris' prestigious arms fair.
Eurosatory 2024 organisers had previously indicated that Israeli citizens could still attend the fair, despite an earlier decision by government authorities in May barring Israeli companies.
A court had previously ruled in favour of four NGOs — including the Association France Palestine Solidarité, Attac, and Stop Arming Israel — that requested Israeli companies, as well as the participation of employees or representatives of the country, be banned in the show.
But a pro-Palestinian organisation filed a petition challenging the concession, arguing that cancelling the pavilion did not guarantee Israelis' absence at the event.
The event organiser Coges, led by Charles Beaudoin, has said they would appeal the latest court decision “as soon as possible,” but the exhibition already began Monday and runs until Friday.
Israel and Russia were excluded because of ongoing wars
Seventy-four Israeli firms were set to exhibit weapons at the fairground event north of Paris near the international airport before the ongoing legal battle ensued.
Reacting to Saturday's ruling, Elik Cohen, vice president of sales at Cylinx, an Israeli company developing communication products for security agencies that planned to attend the exhibition, lamented the decision to exclude Israel.
"This is a very important exhibition in Europe, perhaps the most important one, and we have been exhibiting there regularly for years," said Cohen.
"The main problem is not our absence from the exhibition, as there are other exhibitions, but that we prepared for it, and it was cancelled for us at the last moment," added Cohen.
Last month, the French Defence Ministry deemed it unsuitable to host Israeli companies at the Paris show due to French President Emmanuel Macron's call for the cessation of Israel's operations in Rafah.
It ordered Coges Event to ban the Israeli defence industry from setting up a stand at the show, saying that “the conditions are no longer right to host Israeli companies at the Paris show, given that the French president is calling for the cessation of IDF operations in Rafah.”
The order came after Israel's air force bombed a refugee camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 civilians.
Founded in 1967, the biennial Eurosatory is expected to attract over 1,700 firms and 60,000 attendees from 150 countries, in what is seen as an essential global event for defence and security professionals.
Other notable absentees this year include Russia and Belarus.
