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Faced with revelations about the export of French military components to Israel after October 7, a coalition of associations is calling for the immediate suspension of arms licenses. Three separate appeals have been lodged with the Paris Administrative Court, according to Disclose magazine.
Embarrassing revelations for the government
The affair broke last March. Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, was forced to admit that France had indeed authorized the delivery of machine-gun components to Israel after the launch of the Gaza offensive. Revelations by Disclose and Marsactu had uncovered the shipment of 100,000 parts manufactured by Marseille-based Eurolinks to Israeli defense firm IMI Systems.
The Minister tried to justify these deliveries by claiming that these “ammunition belts” were intended for “re-export” to third countries, and not for use by the Tsahal. An explanation never backed up by evidence, as 115 left-wing parliamentarians pointed out in a letter to Emmanuel Macron: “We are forced to take your word for it, as no proof has been forwarded to date.”
An unprecedented legal offensive
Faced with the government’s refusal to be held to account, eleven NGOs have decided to take legal action. Amnesty International, ASER, Attac, the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (Human Rights League) and Stop Fuelling War have joined forces to file three separate summary proceedings with the Paris Administrative Court, an unprecedented move when it comes to the arms trade.
These organizations cite the “risk that the weapons and military equipment France exports to Israel will be used to commit serious crimes against civilian populations in the Gaza Strip”. They cite the Arms Trade Treaty, which obliges states to suspend all transfers when such equipment could be used to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Three targeted recourses to maximize chances
The legal strategy is based on three axes. The first, led by the NGO ASER, specifically targets a 300,000 euro export license issued in 2022 for munitions and their metal components. This could be the license that enabled the delivery of the famous cartridge links revealed by Disclose.
The second group, made up of Amnesty International and the Ligue des droits de l’Homme, has identified some twenty other licenses worth a total of almost 290 million euros. These include weapons sights, bombardment computers and thermal imaging equipment, all of which are crucial to military operations in Gaza.
Finally, a third collective, represented by lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth, is more radically demanding the suspension of all arms export licenses to Israel.
An encouraging European precedent
While in France this type of appeal has so far failed – in 2023, the Conseil d’Etat rejected a similar request concerning arms sales to Saudi Arabia – similar approaches have been successful in Denmark and the Netherlands. The multiplication of international calls for an embargo, notably from the UN Human Rights Council, could change French jurisprudence.
The outcome of these proceedings will be closely scrutinized, as they could redefine judicial control over French arms exports and the responsibility of the State in the use of its military equipment.
Nous publions avec Progressive International, Palestinian Youth Mouvement, le CFMP, l’AFPS, l’UJFP, Droit-solidarité, Attac, BDS France et The Ditch, un nouveau rapport détaillé des livraisons d’armes depuis la France vers Israël: https://t.co/UTa1PTjpt9https://t.co/OyuTJZ7SGD pic.twitter.com/ng0y6wah3X
— Stop Arming Israel France (@stoparmingisr) June 10, 2025
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