French arms exports to Israel ‘a continuous pipeline of military hardware’

In October last year, French customs agents paid a surprise visit to the headquarters of Sermat, an electronics firm based on the edge of Paris. Its purpose was to investigate the company’s dealings with Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, the country’s leading arms manufacturer. 

A day earlier, customs at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France’s main hub, had blocked an Israeli-bound shipment of Sermat’s alternators – electric generators used by Elbit Systems to equip drones that have been widely deployed by the Israeli army in Gaza. 

The rare move came just days after investigative website Disclose revealed that Sermat had also supplied Elbit Systems with electric motors fitted onto Israeli drones – including the Hermes 450 unmanned aircraft that was involved in the fatal killing of humanitarian workers for the NGO World Central Kitchen in April 2024. 

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Following those revelations, the French government moved swiftly – and discreetly – to ban all exports of Sermat products to Israel. The ban, Disclose wrote at the time, amounted to an admission that “there is a real risk of exported components being used in the bombardments” that have now killed more than 72,000 people in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, according to health officials. 

‘Defensive systems’ 

Since the early months of the Gaza War, France has repeatedly stated that it does not export lethal military equipment liable to be used in the Palestinian territory – a stance recently reiterated by Catherine Vautrin, the French minister for the armed forces and veterans. 

In a social media post on April 4, Vautrin stressed that French military exports to Israel were limited to components for “defensive systems designed to protect civilians”, such as Israel’s Iron Dome, or authorised shipments intended for weapons to be assembled in Israel and then exported to other countries. 

But critics argue that the line between defensive and offensive uses is often blurry, and that French authorities have no control over the components once they have been sold. In Sermat’s case, Disclose pointed to loopholes in export rules, noting that the company’s contracts with Elbit Systems originally involved the equipment of unarmed surveillance drones – and was therefore exempt from the “dual-use” classification that involves more stringent controls. 

Sermat is among more than a dozen French firms cited in a report published on Tuesday by pro-Palestinian advocacy groups Urgence Palestine and People’s Embargo for Palestine. Titled “Exposing French military shipments to Israel”, the 66-page report details the steady flow of French-made equipment that has continued to supply Israel’s military industry throughout the Gaza War. 

Compiled from open-source export data, it charts “more than 525 shipments of military goods (that) have been shipped from French manufacturers to Israeli defence and aerospace industries” between October 2023 and March 2026. 

Goods include “actuators, optical components, and batteries for avionics and ground systems; ammunition links for rifles and machine guns; as well as sensors for armored vehicles and forgings for artillery systems”. Though none of the components constitute lethal weapons that are ready for use, the report says they “represent a continuous pipeline of military hardware to Israel, directly facilitating the technical infrastructure of its assaults”. 

Contacted by FRANCE 24, the French finance ministry did not wish to comment on the report, while the defence ministry referred to Vautrin’s social media post. The French government has taken steps to dissolve Urgence Palestine for “inciting hatred”, in a move criticised by several human rights experts appointed by the UN. 

‘Bypassing public scrutiny’ 

The report by Urgence Palestine and People’s Embargo for Palestine also details the important role played by French airports and seaports as transport hubs for military shipments to Israel, notably from the US. It states that the FedEx hub at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle handled 117 shipments carrying Lockheed Martin components that are crucial to the maintenance and repair of Israel’s fleet of F-35 jets. 

“As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and the Genocide Convention, France is legally and morally bound to ensure that its industrial and state exports do not facilitate serious violations of international law,” the report concludes, adding that the evidence suggests “these obligations have been breached through supply chains that have bypassed public scrutiny”. 

As early as January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) warned of the “risk” of genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. Last September, a UN human rights commission concluded that the risk had become reality, adding that the international community was under the “legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza”. 

Some European countries have heeded such calls, with Spain and Belgium notably enacting arms embargos on Israel. The Spanish government has also banned the use of its ports and airports for exports of weapons, dual-use technology and military equipment to Israel. 

Docker protests 

Elsewhere, most notably in Italy, dock workers have taken matters into their own hands, sometimes refusing to load military equipment onto ships bound for Israel. 

In June last year, mirroring earlier protests in Genoa, Salerno and Ravenna, dockers in the French port of Fos-sur-Mer refused to load crates of links used in machine guns aboard a cargo vessel bound for the Israeli port of Haifa. It came days after another investigation by Disclose revealed that the port near Marseille was a key link in the secretive export of spare parts for machine guns. 

The links manufactured by local company Eurolinks are small metal pieces used to connect machine gun bullets and allowing rapid bursts of fire. Rights groups say they have likely been used against civilians in the Gaza Strip, including in the February 24, 2024 “Flour Massacre” in which hundreds of Palestinians were killed or injured as they sought food from aid trucks. 

Sébastien Lecornu, then France’s defence minister and the current prime minister, stated at the time that the export licence granted to Eurolinks “relates solely to re-export” and “does not entitle the Israeli army to use these components”. He did not elaborate on whether and how the French authorities sought to enforce the terms of the licence in Israel. 

French arms manufacturers contacted by Disclose and Le Monde have offered similar answers, suggesting it was up to their Israeli clients to abide by French export rules. 

Defence ties between the two countries have cooled sharply since the start of the Gaza War, with Paris taking an increasingly critical line toward Israel and at one point banning Israeli firms from a major arms fair. 

Read moreFrance blocks access to Israeli offensive weapons stands at Paris Air Show

According to a parliamentary report published last year, France authorised more than 200 dual-use export licences to Israel in 2024 worth €76.5 million – a 60% decrease from the previous year. Those figures look set for an even sharper drop next year – though not at France’s initiative. 

The Israeli defence ministry announced last week it would stop all defence procurement from France, accusing Paris of a hostile stance. The ministry said it would instead rely on the local defence industry and suppliers in “friendly” countries. 

Analysts, however, suggest the announcement had more to do with heated rhetoric than a substantial policy shift, noting that existing contracts are expected to be honoured and that private companies may still pursue deals.