Five French exhibitors at ISDEF out of 260

Looking at the list of 260 exhibitors, one cannot but notice the very limited number of exhibitors from France (five in total). This is strange considering that relations between France and Israel, especially from an economic point of view, are continuously strengthening.

According to the information published on the France Diplomatie website, in 2015 France exported a total of €1.33 billion in goods to Israel, thus becoming Israel’s third largest European supplier behind Germany (7%) and Italy (4.2%). The same website also indicates that while in the early 2000s France only had a limited industrial presence in Israel, today approx. 50 French subsidiaries are set up in Israel and employ more than 6,000 people in key sectors (such as energy, consumer goods, telecommunications and electronics).

Yet, while France has one of the leading defence industries in the world along with the US, it is largely absent from ISDEF.

Dr. Alix Valenti