LE BOURGET, France: Geopolitical tensions roiled the opening of the Paris Air Show on Monday (Jun 16) as French authorities sealed off Israeli weapons industry booths amid the conflicts in Iran and Gaza, a move that Israel condemned as “outrageous”.
The decision added drama to the major aerospace industry event, which was already being held under the shadow of last week’s deadly crash of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Black walls were installed around the stands of five Israeli defence firms at the trade fair in Le Bourget, an airfield on the outskirts of Paris.
The booths displayed “offensive weapons” that could be used in Gaza – in violation of agreements with Israeli authorities, a French government source told AFP.
The companies – Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael Uvision, Elbit and Aeronautics – make drones and guided bombs and missiles.
An Israeli exhibitor wrote a message in yellow chalk on one of the walls, saying the hidden defence systems “are protecting the state of Israel these days. The French government, in the name of discrimination is trying to hide them from you!”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was shocked by the “outrageous” closure of the pavilions and said the situation should be “immediately corrected”.
“Israeli companies have signed contracts with the organisers … it’s like creating an Israeli ghetto,” he said on French television channel LCI.
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