Components could have been delivered until recently, French Military Minister Sébastien Lecornu admitted on Tuesday. These are “elementary components,” he added.
Published on February 27, 2024 8:32 p.m. Updated on February 27, 2024 8:46 p.m
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French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu in Paris on February 21, 2024. (MATHILDE KACZKOWSKI / HANS LUCAS / AFP)
France wants to be “perfect” in the delivery of components for Israel’s military equipment, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu assured on Tuesday, February 27. The latter stressed that its departments responsible for authorizing these exports had recently issued negative opinions.
In 2022, exports of components to Israel accounted for “15 million euros” or “0.2% of total transfers,” explained Sébastien Lecornu. “Objectively speaking, there are no arms relations as such with Israel,” he noted, adding that France and Israel compete “in a certain number of markets.”
However, components were still available until recently, the minister admitted. These were “elementary components”, such as “ball bearings, glazing, cooling systems, potentiometers, pressure sensors”. “In general, these are weapons that are intended to be re-exported from Israel to other customers,” he assured.
Be “even stricter”
Since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, Sébastien Lecornu has called on the relevant services to “question even more strictly the use of these components.” Only “a few licenses” could be granted for the Israeli Iron Dome, this defense device that enables the interception of rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
“I do not have all the current information, but the last statements from my ministry were negative,” emphasized the Minister of the Armed Forces. “It's just a matter of being impeccable in this matter. All of this, of course, in a very open dialogue with Tel Aviv.”