French Defense Minister: France provide Israel with Iron Dome components only!

French Defense Minister Sebastien Leconreau said France’s position is clear: It won’t sell weapons to Israel, after dock workers in Marseille refused to unload military components that were due to be shipped by sea to Haifa.

“France’s position could not be clearer,” Le Conroe told French television channel LCI.

“No weapons are sold to Israel… The reason is that Israel is one of the main competitors of French industries”.

He added that what is being sold to Israel is only “components” for the Iron Dome, one of Israel’s defense systems that protects the country from rocket and drone attacks, as well as “components for re-export”.

In the second case, “there are items sent to Israel, subjected to industrial processing, and often re-exported, sometimes to France. All of this is subject to oversight,” Leconreau said.

On Wednesday and Thursday, dock workers at the port of Marseille-Fos refused to load military components destined for Israel, including machine gun parts manufactured by Eurolynx, in protest against their participation in the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government in Gaza, according to a union representing them.

The ship left the port on Friday without loading any containers, according to the facility’s operator who spoke to AFP.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told RTL radio on Friday morning, “We don’t provide military equipment for use in Gaza,” but noted that there were “two exceptions”.

“These are components that allow Israel to defend itself, especially with the Iron Dome,” he explained, adding, “There is equipment that can be assembled in Israel, but its intended for re-export”.

He pointed out that if Eurolinx’s military equipment is used in Gaza, the company exporting it will be in violation of the law.