Mariano Lopez / U.S. Navy (public domain; 2022 archive crop).
The Euronaval maritime-defense exhibition opens Tuesday, November 3, near Paris with Israeli exhibitors facing previously announced French limits on the equipment they can display. The four-day show runs through November 6 at Paris Nord Villepinte, according to the organizer’s schedule.
The restrictions were disclosed before this week, rather than announced Monday. Euronaval commissioner-general Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux told AFP on October 20 that France had authorized nongovernmental Israeli exhibitors within a tightly defined framework limited to equipment exclusively for air defense, missile defense and defense against ballistic missiles. His comments were reported by BFM Business.
The organizer also said the Israeli government and its representatives would not participate, and that roughly half a dozen Israeli exhibitors had registered. He said organizers would contact those exhibitors to make sure they complied with the French government’s directives. Those limits do not amount to a blanket exclusion of private Israeli companies.
The rules create a narrower setting for companies planning broader naval displays. Elbit Systems said in an October 29 announcement that it would present its unmanned underwater-vehicle capabilities for the first time at Euronaval, alongside its Seagull unmanned surface vessels and other maritime systems. The company said the underwater capabilities came through its acquisition of International Submarine Engineering.
Elbit’s announcement described applications including mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, seabed mapping and protection of maritime infrastructure. It did not explain how each planned exhibit would be treated under the French restrictions. The scope of the final displays will depend on compliance with the rules, not simply on companies’ advance product announcements.
JBizNews Desk | Jerusalem
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