French foreign ministry summons US ambassador after leaks reveal NSA spying on French presidents.
François Hollande: ‘France will not tolerate actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
France’s president, François Hollande, has described reported spying by the US on senior French officials as unacceptable and said Paris would not tolerate actions that threaten its security.
Hollande released the statement after an emergency meeting of ministers and army commanders on Wednesday, following WikiLeaks revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on the last three French presidents.
“France will not tolerate actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests,” the president’s office said, adding that allegations about US spying on French interests had been revealed in the past.
“Commitments were made by the US authorities. They need to be recalled and strictly respected.”
The French foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador to discuss the matter, a French diplomatic source said.
The revelations were first reported in French daily Libération and on news website Mediapart, which said the NSA spied on presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Hollande from at least 2006 until May 2012.
Hollande is due to meet members of parliament at his Elysée Palace offices later on Wednesday.
“We find it hard to understand or imagine what motivates an ally to spy on allies who are often on the same strategic positions in world affairs,” French government spokesman Stéphane Le Foll told iTELE television.
US media cited a statement from the US National Security Council saying it was not targeting and would not target Hollande’s communications. The statement did not deny spying had taken place in the past.
Claude Guéant, Sarkozy’s former chief of staff and one of the reported targets of the NSA, told RTL radio: “Considering the very close relationship we have with the United States, considering the fact we are extremely loyal allies, I feel like trust has been broken.”
“These are scary revelations which require explanations from the United States and guarantees that it won’t happen again,” the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said on France2 television.
