From the Liveblog of
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Defense Ministry says Israeli booths saw heavy traffic at Paris arms expo despite French restrictions
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleStav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
Israeli defense industry booths at the Eurosatory arms expo in Paris drew visits from senior military and government officials from around the world despite French restrictions on Israel’s participation, the Defense Ministry says.
The ministry says representatives of countries, defense ministries, militaries and defense companies visited Israeli exhibitors throughout the event, even after France barred Israel from establishing a national pavilion, prevented the participation of Israeli government officials and banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons.
“Despite the restrictions imposed on Israeli industries and the arbitrary blocking of some of them, there was very heavy traffic around the Israeli booths,” says Israel’s defense attaché to France, Col. Sagi Fink.
According to Fink, “senior official representatives, chiefs of staff, generals and defense ministers from various countries” visited the Israeli booths, “expressed support and showed interest in learning about Israeli technologies.”
The statement comes days after the Defense Ministry said Eurosatory organizers erected wooden barriers around Israeli defense industry booths despite the companies complying with French restrictions and displaying only defensive systems.
דוכנים עמוסים וביקורי עשרות משלחות בינ"ל: חרף ההגבלות הצרפתיות, התעשיות הביטחוניות הישראליות עמדו במוקד ההתעניינות בתערוכת יורוסטורי 2026
להמשך קריאה:https://t.co/Sc1JSDnRu9 pic.twitter.com/erslsklahz— משרד הביטחון (@MoDIsrael) June 18, 2026
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