Israel furious as France shuts weapons stands at Paris Airshow

+ Stands for Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI and Uvision closed

+ Companies refused to remove attack weapons from display

+ Israel condemns 'outrageous and unprecedented decision'

+ France says rules for exhibitors were made clear in advance

+ Show organizers in talks to try to resolve dispute

Paris, France / Jerusalem, Israel - France shut down the main Israeli company stands at the Paris Airshow on Monday for refusing to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel and inflaming tensions between the traditional allies.

Stands including those of Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI and Uvision were blocked off with black partitions before the start of the world's biggest aviation trade fair. Smaller Israeli stands, which did not have hardware on display, and an Israeli Ministry of Defense stand, remained open.

France, a long-time Israeli ally, has gradually hardened its position on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu over its actions in Gaza and military interventions abroad.

French President Emmanuel Macron made a distinction last week between Israel’s right to protect itself, which France supports and could take part in, and strikes on Iran it did not recommend.

The office of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said it had told all exhibitors ahead of the show that offensive weapons would be prohibited from display and that Israel's embassy in Paris had agreed to this. It added that the companies could resume their exhibits if they complied with this requirement.

Bayrou told reporters that given France's diplomatic stance, and "in particular its ... very great concern about Gaza", the government had felt it unacceptable for attack weapons to be on show.

But Israel's defense ministry reacted with fury.

"This outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations," it said in a statement.

"The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition - weapons that compete with French industries."

The ministry later added it was filing court petitions against the decision.

IAI's president and CEO, Boaz Levy, said the black partitions were reminiscent of "the dark days of when Jews were segmented from European society".

"OFF GUARD"

Responding to France's timeline on the incident, a source familiar with the Israeli side said the French had agreed to a pre-submitted list of items from the Israelis before the show. Israel's delegation was caught "completely off guard" by guidelines at 6:30 pm on the eve of the show, the source added.

Two U.S. Republican politicians attending the air show also criticized the French move.

Talking to reporters outside the blacked-out Israeli defense stalls, U.S. Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders described the decision as "pretty absurd", while Republican Senator Katie Britt criticized it as "short-sighted".

Meshar Sasson, senior vice president at Elbit Systems, accused France of trying to stymie competition, pointing to a series of contracts that Elbit has won in Europe.

"If you cannot beat them in technology, just hide them right? That’s what it is because there's no other explanation," he said.

Rafael described the French move as "unprecedented, unjustified, and politically motivated".

The diplomatic row rocked the opening of the biennial show, already in somber mood after the crash of a Boeing BA.N 787 and fresh conflict in the Middle East, with announcements scaled back.

Every two years, Le Bourget airport is transformed into a showcase for the aerospace and defense industries - its sprawling tarmac lined with fighter jets, airliners and drones and its spacious halls hosting high-tech gadgetry and weapons.

A person involved in the organizing and budgeting of large company displays over many years - not connected to the French or Israelis - told Reuters that a large stand could cost up to $5 million including all the cost of freight and staff travel.

The air show's organizer said in a statement that it was in talks to try to help "the various parties find a favorable outcome to the situation".

Bayrou's office urged Israeli firms to "assume their responsibilities" and follow guidelines if they wanted to reopen their booths. Towards the end of the first day of the June 16-20 event, there was no immediate sign of the stands being reopened.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Tim Hepher, Giulia Segreti, Steven Scheer, Joe Brock, Michel Rose, John Irish, Emily Rose and Geert de Clercq. Editing by Mark Potter and Stephen Coates)