Israeli companies authorized to participate in the Milipol security fair by Emmanuel Macron

This arrival arouses controversy. In the past, access to several exhibitions had been refused by France to Israel.

There will be many Israeli companies at the Milipol safety and internal security exhibition, from November 18 to 21 in Villepinte in Seine-Saint-Denis. The President of the Republic authorized “all Israeli companies that wish it” to participate, the Elysée said on Thursday, November 13.

Since 2024, the French government has banned access to several defense exhibitions from certain Israeli companies active in the war in Gaza. But, “taking into account the evolution of the situation on the ground following the ceasefire”the head of state has “decided to allow all Israeli companies that wish to participate in the Milipol exhibition”explained the French presidency. According to the Elysée, “this decision aims to contribute to a constructive dialogue with the Israeli authorities on all subjects relating to peace in the Middle East and our bilateral relations”.

Earlier this week, the Israeli press claimed that eight Israeli companies would not be allowed to exhibit at the Milipol show. On Tuesday, the former Franco-Israeli MP Meyer Habib denounced on the X network And “scandal” and one “aggression against Israel by the French government”. A few hours later, he assured that he had received a “message from the President of the Republic”ensuring that there would be no “no boycott of Israeli companies” at the Milipol show.

Thursday morning, the deputy La France insoumise Thomas Portes told him said on having asked Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez at the beginning of November “to ban the presence of 38 Israeli companies” to this event. “It is unacceptable for Israeli companies to come and trade in France on technologies and equipment tested on Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank”he wrote in this letter.

The Israelis had been prevented from exhibiting in France at the Eurosatory exhibition dedicated to land defense in spring 2024 and authorized at the last minute by the courts to exhibit at the Euronaval exhibition in the fall. Last June again, several stands of Israeli arms manufacturers exhibiting “offensive weapons” at the Le Bourget air show, near Paris, had seen their access condemned by decision of the French government, provoking the anger of Israel.