Representatives from some 2,000 companies will this week evaluate the latest defence technologies at France’s Eurosatory weapons show in northern Paris. Notably absent this year are Israel and Russia who were excluded because of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Visitors to the show can explore state-of-the-art air and missile defence systems and gain insights on topics such as information warfare, the impact of climate change on military operations, artificial intelligence, space defence, camouflage and military ethics
It will feature exclusive demonstrations by troops of the elite French crisis intervention group (GIGN), the French national police, RAID anti-terrorist squads and the army.
More than 400 speakers including generals, defence consultants and CEOs of the world’s largest arms companies have been invited to hold some 172 seminars.
In total, 2,015 defence-related companies have registered for a stand at this year's show, which runs until Friday.
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© {{ scope.credits }}France is represented by 678 companies – including Thales, Safran and Airbus.
The US has sent 168 participants including GM Defence, Intelsat, Northrop Grumman and a delegation of the US Army.
Israel, Russia out
In May, France cancelled the participation of Israeli arms industry executives after the country's air force bombed a refugee camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 civilians.
The Times of Israel quoted Eurosatory organiser Charles Beaudoin saying that 74 Israeli companies, including the country’s main defence industrialists, had wanted to participate.
A coalition of pro-Palestine groups – including the Association France Palestine Solidarité, Attac, Stop Arming Israel and others – had lobbied for the exclusion of Israel from the French arms show over its offensive in Gaza.
French weapon exporters will focus on potential clients, as numerous conflicts continue to rage across the globe.
Ukraine is seeking to boost its stock as it continues its war with Russia, while Saudi Arabia, one of France's major arms clients, is still at war with Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Indonesia, according to the Jakarta Post, is negotiating a long-term partnership with French company Nexter (KDNS) to "build a domestic weapons industry system".
Russia and Belarus will not present either. But according to the official exhibitors list, China, which supports Russia in its war in Ukraine, is present with 61 companies.
Most of them are smaller companies providing support equipment such as armour, fibre-optic materials and radio technology – but the list of exhibitors also includes Norinco (China Ordnance Industries Group), one of the world’s largest defence contractors.
Eurosatory is named after Satory, a town near Versailles that is home to Paris’s 24th infantry regiment and the GIGN headquarters.
The first Eurosatory show was held in there in 1967, but due to its expansion over the years, the show moved to the Villepinte exhibition halls north of the French capital.
