France summoned U.S. Ambassador Jane Hartley to its foreign ministry Wednesday after WikiLeaks revealed that the National Security Agency spied on the past three French presidents.
The documents show top French officials in Paris were being watched as they talked openly about Greece’s economy, relations with Germany, and America spying on allies between 2006 and 2012 — something French President Francois Hollande called an “unacceptable” security breach.
“France will not tolerate any actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests,” Hollande’s office said in a statement.
According to French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll, Hollande will soon be sending France’s top intelligence coordinator to the U.S. to ensure that promises made after earlier NSA spying revelations in 2013 and 2014 have been kept.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. is “not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande,” but did not address the new claims of prior spying.
Hollande had two emergency meetings Wednesday as a result of the revelations, first with his country’s top security officials and then with leading legislators.
The revelations were disclosed late Tuesday in French daily newspaper Liberations and investigative website Mediapart — a release that appears to be timed to coincide with a French Parliament vote on a bill allowing broad new surveillance powers.
The documents have still not been confirmed as accurate.
(h/t The Associated Press)
