Amid the Iran War, Israel has decided to stop all defense procurement from France, as it accuses Paris of a hostile stance toward it.
Incidentally, France was once Israel’s strongest defense partner that supplied jets and modern weapons to the Jewish state, even at the risk of annoying the US.
The move could have far-reaching consequences, as France, according to SIPRI‘s data for 2020 to 2024, is the world’s second-largest arms exporter, controlling 9.6% share in global arms exports.
Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. Amir Baram made the announcement on Israeli TV channel, adding that the decision was part of a broader effort to reduce cooperation with countries that take steps against Israel.
Baram said the government would instead rely on the local defense industry and suppliers in “friendly” countries.
“The Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram has decided to reduce all defense procurement from France to zero, replacing it with domestic Israeli procurement or purchases from allied countries,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Hill.
In the statement, the spokesperson said, “France has taken a series of actions that have harmed Israel’s security and the operational capabilities of its defense industry.”
“The Israel Ministry of Defense views the French government’s policy with serious concern, as it undermines security cooperation with Israel, a country that is actively operating on the front line against Iran and protecting the security of the Western world.”
The hostile actions undertaken by France against Israel include backing UN calls for an arms embargo on Israel, recognizing the state of Palestine in September 2025, and barring Israeli firms from defense exhibitions in Paris.
On March 31, France decided not to allow Israel to use its airspace to transport American weapons to be used in the war against Iran.
France’s decision was also criticized by US President Donald Trump.
“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,” Trump said on Truth Social. “France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated!”
“The U.S.A. will remember!!!” he wrote.
However, the practical impact is likely to be limited.
France and Israel are competitors in the global arms export market. France is the world’s second-largest arms exporter, and Israel is the world’s eighth-largest. The two countries often compete for market share in key arms-importing countries.
The French government expressed regret over Israel’s decision but described it as having limited practical consequences. A spokesperson for the French Ministry of Armed Forces said Paris had already significantly restricted exports of offensive weaponry to Israel since 2024, authorizing only defensive components and dual-use items.
“France’s policy is guided by international law and the need to prevent escalation in the region,” the spokesperson said. “Our decisions on arms exports and airspace use are made on a case-by-case basis, in line with our commitments and humanitarian principles.”
French officials noted that bilateral defense trade between the two countries had already declined sharply in recent years. According to French parliamentary reports, authorized dual-use exports to Israel fell to around $88.8 million in 2024, down 60% from the previous year.
Regarding airspace, the Élysée Palace clarified that France had not imposed a blanket ban on U.S. military flights. President Emmanuel Macron’s office stated that France reviews overflight requests individually and has approved most routine flights, while scrutinizing those directly linked to Iran’s military operations.
Still, Israel’s decision to halt all defense trade with France marks a dramatic full-circle moment in one of Israel’s most consequential, yet complex and nuanced defense partnerships of the 20th century.
The Golden Era: When France Armed Israel
For nearly two decades after Israel’s birth in 1948, France was Israel’s strongest and most reliable defense partner, the only major Western power willing to sell advanced jets, tanks, and even, reportedly, assist with nuclear know-how when the United States and Britain turned their backs.
Today, the US is considered Israel’s natural defense partner.
The Arms Export Control Act (AECA) of the US has an obligation on Washington to maintain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME) in the Middle East.
Section 36(h) of the AECA requires that any proposed US sale or export of defense articles or services to any country in the Middle East other than Israel must include a certification to Congress. This certification must determine that the sale will not adversely affect Israel’s qualitative military edge over military threats to Israel.
Israel is also the recipient of the largest US military aid, receiving over US$3.8 billion annually.
However, it was not always so.
In fact, in 1949, just one year after Israel’s founding, the US imposed an arms embargo on Israel under the 1950 Tripartite Declaration.
The Tripartite Declaration was a joint statement by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France guaranteeing the 1949 Arab-Israeli armistice borders.
Under it, the three powers pledged to regulate the sale of arms to both Israeli and Arab forces to prevent an arms race.
However, by 1953, Paris quietly began supplying weapons. By the mid-1950s, the relationship had blossomed into a full strategic partnership.
France sold Israel its first jet fighters, the Dassault Ouragan and later the more advanced Mystère series.
In fact, during the Suez Canal crisis of 1956, Israel, the UK, and France fought on the same side, while the US opposed the military invasion of Egypt.
Then in 1959, France sold Israel its latest, cutting-edge Dassault Mirage III — a supersonic delta-wing interceptor that became the backbone of the Israeli Air Force.
Israel eventually operated over 70 Mirages, using them to devastating effect in the 1967 Six-Day War.
France also supplied AMX-13 light tanks, artillery, radar systems, and even naval vessels.
French engineers helped Israel establish its own aircraft industry. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was born partly out of this partnership.
There were persistent (though officially denied) reports of French assistance in Israel’s nuclear program at Dimona, a relationship that gave Jerusalem its ultimate insurance policy, its own nuclear weapons.
By 1966, France accounted for nearly 80 percent of Israel’s arms imports.
However, during the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel perhaps needed France more than ever, the French President Charles de Gaulle abruptly reversed the policy and imposed a total arms embargo on Israel.
Seeking to rebuild ties with Arab nations after the Algerian War and position France as a neutral power in the Middle East, Paris gave Jerusalem a cold shoulder.
France even refused to deliver the 50 Mirage 5 jets for which Israel has already made the payment. The jets were built according to Israeli specifications, and Jerusalem had made the full payment of over US$75 million at that time, yet France refused to release the jets.
In 1972, France returned the money to Israel with interest. Still, it devastated the Israeli Air Force’s modernization plans.
Forced to improvise, Israel turned inward. IAI reverse-engineered the Mirage into the Nesher (later the Kfir) and accelerated development of indigenous systems.
The event also convinced Israel to diversify its arms imports and look for new security and defense partners.
Jerusalem, gradually, pivoted hard toward the United States. By 1968, the first McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jets arrived, marking the beginning of the Israeli-US defense partnership.
In the coming years, the US sold its F-15 Strike Eagles, F-16s, and even F-35 Lightning IIs to Israel.
In fact, while the US has sold the F-35 to 19 countries, it has allowed only Israel to make modifications to the stealth fighter, enabling the development of its heavily customized F-35I Adir version.
Through the 1990s and in the first decades of the 21st century, the France-Israel relationship gradually stabilized. However, under President Emmanuel Macron, France has increasingly distanced itself from Israel.
The French-Israeli relationship has seen many ups and downs in the last 78 years. France was the first country to supply jets and modern weapons to Israel, and helped the Jewish state with its aircraft and nuclear program. French weapons were crucial in Israel’s decisive victory in the Six-Day War in 1967.
However, from Israel’s perspective, France proved an unreliable ally as it imposed an arms embargo on Israel in the midst of a war.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
