Israel condemns black partition walls around its pavilions at Paris Air
Show
[June 16, 2025] By
JOHN LEICESTER and THOMAS ADAMSON
PARIS (AP) — French authorities ordered black partition walls erected
around some Israeli defense 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 defense 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.
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 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.
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