France pushes back after Jerusalem halts arms deals

Israel has not formally notified France of its recent decision to halt all arms procurement from the country, a French source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel, while also criticizing the reasoning for the move.

French officials “discovered [the decision] in the news,” and “still haven’t been directly notified,” according to the source.

“We don’t know exactly what’s at stake,” the source continues, questioning whether the move applies to existing contracts, includes exceptions, or has a defined timeline.

The Defense Ministry declines to comment on the alleged lack of communication, instead reiterating earlier remarks that it had informed French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin that “there will be no new professional engagement with the French military.”

The decision “is a clear sign that the bilateral relations are not good,” the French source adds, while noting that the economic impact is limited as Israel is not a significant defense customer for France.

The source calls Defense Ministry criticism that French decisions in recent years harmed Israel’s security “total BS because we showed several times… that we care about Israel’s security.”

Israel “forgot to mention that we contributed to Israeli defense during the last war with Iran in June,” the source says.

While the source declines to confirm whether France had blocked Israeli aircraft carrying munitions for operations against Iran from using its airspace in the current war — a key reason cited by the Defense Ministry for halting arms purchases — they add that even if such restrictions were in place, they would not have made a meaningful difference, as “there are alternative routes” available to Israel for these flights.

The source says that Israel and the US have been “very pushy” about Europe’s participation in the campaign against Iran, but that France’s position on refraining from offensive participation remains the same.

“If disagreeing with Israel means… not caring about [Israel’s] security interests, it’s a bit short for an argument,” the source says.

Despite the rise in tensions, dialogue between Israel and France is ongoing, the source adds, saying “we still continue to have discussions” on both diplomatic and military levels.