I think I owe you guys a barrow-ful of Euros.
I had exactly the same problem with my French-bought Ariston and thought it was probably cheaper to buy a new machine rather than spend the same money on repairs which might not extend the life of the machine by much.
That was until I saw how much they are in France now – as much and sometimes more than a washing mchine, which I always thought was much more complicated.
However, having seen this forum and the post which matches my error to a tee, I decided to take off as much as I could (from the dishwasher!) to see what I could find. I did find a single grain of maize/corn which I didn’t think could cause a problem but, having put evverything back together again, the machine is working fine now!!!