PARIS: France has banned Israeli defense companies from exhibiting at a trade show next month near Paris, organizers have said. “By decision of the government, there will be no stand for the Israeli defense firms at the Eurosatory 2024 fair,” organizers Coges Events stated.
Seventy-four Israeli companies had been set to be represented at the show from June 17 to 21 at fairgrounds close to Paris’ main international airport, with Coges earlier saying about ten of them were to exhibit weapons.
AFP reported that the Israeli embassy did issue any statement over the matter. The development comes days after the Israeli forces bombing of a camp for the displaced in Strip sparked global outrage and protests in France.
The air strikes killed around 45 people in the town of Rafah in the night of Sunday to Monday in the south of the besieged Palestinian territory, local authorities said.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 36,000 people mostly women and children in Gaza since October 7, health ministry said.
A group of activists last week in a legal warning asked Coges to take step to avoid the buying and selling of arms that could be used in “crimes” committed in the Gaza Strip or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Similarly, ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgency Palestine and the France-Palestine Solidarity Association warned against profits from the show “reinforcing the economic power of companies likely to take part in these crimes.”
