Israel furious as France shuts four weapons stands at Paris Airshow

Le Bourget, France/Jerusalem: France shut down the four main Israeli company stands at the Paris Airshow for refusing to remove offensive weapons from display, in a move condemned by Israel and highlighting tensions between the traditional allies.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday that the instruction came from French authorities after Israeli firms failed to comply with a direction from a French security agency to remove offensive or kinetic weapons from the stands.

The stands were those being used by Elbit Systems , Rafael, IAI and Uvision. Three smaller Israeli stands, which didn't have hardware on display, and an Israeli Ministry of Defence stand, remain open.

France, a long-time Israeli ally, has gradually hardened its position on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu over its actions in Gaza and military interventions abroad.

French President Emmanuel Macron made a distinction last week between Israel’s right to protect itself, which France supports and could take part in, and strikes on Iran it did not recommend.

Israel's defence ministry said it had categorically rejected the order to remove some weapons systems from displays, and that exhibition organisers responded by erecting a black wall that separated the Israeli industry pavilions from others.

This action, it added, was carried out in the middle of the night after Israeli defence officials and companies had already finished setting up their displays.

"This outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations," the ministry said in a statement.

"The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition - weapons that compete with French industries."

IAI's president and CEO, Boaz Levy, said the black partition walls were reminiscent of "the dark days of when Jews were segmented from European society".

Two U.S. Republican politicians attending the air show also criticised the French move.

Talking to reporters outside the blacked-out Israeli defence stalls, U.S. Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders described the decision as "pretty absurd", while Republican Senator Katie Britt criticised it as "short-sighted".

The French prime minister's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Meshar Sasson, senior vice president at Elbit Systems, accused France of trying to stymie competition, pointing to a series of contracts that Elbit has won in Europe.

"If you cannot beat them in technology, just hide them right? That’s what it is because there's no other explanation," he said.

Rafael described the French move as "unprecedented, unjustified, and politically motivated".

The air show's organiser said in a statement that it was in talks to try to help "the various parties find a favourable outcome to the situation".

Paris Airshow organisers said on Monday they were engaging in dialogue to try to resolve a dispute over the presence of some Israeli companies at the event.

France earlier ordered the four main Israeli company stands at the show to be shut down after they refused to comply with a request to remove some weapons from their displays.