France is not supplying arms to Israel, but is authorizing the sale of weapons components to the country amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin said Saturday.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would not participate in a conflict with Iran on the side of the United States and Israel. Commenting on Macron's words, Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarqa said the next day that France cannot be considered a friend of the Jewish state.
„No, France is not supplying arms to Israel. It (in the context of the conflict in the Middle East) authorizes the sale of components intended for integration into defense systems designed to protect the civilian population, such as the Iron Dome, and equipment intended exclusively for re-export, some of which is needed by our own armed forces, wrote French Defense Minister H. on his social media page.