The Paris Commercial Court declared on Tuesday that the French government’s order to bar Israeli arms companies and affiliated individuals from a defense show in Paris was invalid.
Last month, the French Defense Ministry banned Israeli companies from participating in the upcoming Coges Event, stating that “the conditions are no longer right to host Israeli companies at the Paris show, given that the French president is calling for the cessation of IDF operations in Rafah.”
Over the weekend, a French district court upheld the order and even added a restriction on Israeli individuals attending the event, but today’s ruling did not directly address that issue.
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The legal challenge of the ban, originally levied by the Israel-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was supported by Charles Beaudoin, the exhibition’s president, who stated on Saturday that the district court’s ruling “goes beyond the government’s decision taken two weeks ago,” referencing the ban on Israeli nationals.
France’s defense minister, Sébastien Lecornu, also denounced the ban on individuals.
In its opinion, the Paris Commercial Court confirmed “the execution of the measures adopted against the Israeli companies whose stands were prohibited at the EUROSATORY 2024 exhibition until the closing date of the exhibition.”
Some Israeli companies have said they plan to boycott the event regardless of the court’s decision today.