France decries US �spying�

WikiLeaks claims

AFP, PARIS: France summoned the US ambassador yesterday and said it "will not tolerate any acts that threaten its security" after leaked documents indicated Washington spied on President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors.
Hollande convened a meeting of top intelligence officials and cabinet ministers to discuss the documents released by WikiLeaks the night before.
The president's office called the revelations "unacceptable", and diplomatic sources told AFP that US Ambassador Jane Hartley had been summoned to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
The documents -- labelled "Top Secret" and appearing to reveal spying on Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Hollande from 2006 to 2012 -- were published by WikiLeaks in partnership with French newspaper Liberation and the Mediapart website.
The leak comes just weeks after President Barack Obama approved landmark legislation ending the US government's bulk telephone data dragnet, significantly reversing US policy by reining in the most controversial surveillance programme since 9/11.
The White House did not comment on past activity, but said it was not targeting Hollande's communications and will not do so in the future.
"We are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price late Tuesday, calling the US partnership with France "indispensable".
Hollande's office recalled US promises in late 2013 not to spy on French leaders following accusations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had wiretapped Ger­man Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Commitments were made by the US authorities," the Elysee Palace said in a statement. "They must be remembered and strictly respected."
The leaked documents include five from the NSA, the most recent dated May 22, 2012, just days after Hollande took office.
It claims Hollande "approved holding secret meetings in Paris to discuss the eurozone crisis, particularly the consequences of a Greek exit from the eurozone".
It also says Hollande believed after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she "had given up (on Greece) and was unwilling to budge".
"This made Hollande very worried for Greece and the Greek people, who might react by voting for an extremist party," according to the document.
The same file also alleges that the French leader went behind Merkel's back to schedule meetings in Paris with members of the Social Democrats -- Germany's main opposition party at the time.
Another document, dated 2008, was titled "Sarkozy sees himself as only one who can resolve the world financial crisis", and said the former French president "blamed many of the current economic problems on mistakes
made by the US government, but believes that Washington is now heeding some of his advice".
One leak describes Sarkozy's frustration at US espionage, saying the "main sticking point" in achieving greater intelligence cooperation "is the US desire to continue spying on France"

France decries US �spying�

WikiLeaks claims

AFP, PARIS: France summoned the US ambassador yesterday and said it will not tolerate any acts that threaten its security after leaked documents indicated Washington spied on President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors. Hollande convened a meeting of top intelligence officials and cabinet ministers to discuss the documents released by WikiLeaks the night before. The presidents office called the revelations unacceptable, and diplomatic sources told AFP that US Ambassador Jane Hartley had been summoned to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The documents -- labelled Top Secret and appearing to reveal spying on Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Hollande from 2006 to 2012 -- were published by WikiLeaks in partnership with French newspaper Liberation and the Mediapart website. The leak comes just weeks after President Barack Obama approved landmark legislation ending the US governments bulk telephone data dragnet, significantly reversing US policy by reining in the most controversial surveillance programme since 9/11. The White House did not comment on past activity, but said it was not targeting Hollandes communications and will not do so in the future. We are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande, said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price late Tuesday, calling the US partnership with France indispensable. Hollandes office recalled US promises in late 2013 not to spy on French leaders following accusations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had wiretapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Commitments were made by the US authorities, the Elysee Palace said in a statement. They must be remembered and strictly respected. The leaked documents include five from the NSA, the most recent dated May 22, 2012, just days after Hollande took office. It claims Hollande approved holding secret meetings in Paris to discuss the eurozone crisis, particularly the consequences of a Greek exit from the eurozone. It also says Hollande believed after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she had given up (on Greece) and was unwilling to budge. This made Hollande very worried for Greece and the Greek people, who might react by voting for an extremist party, according to the document. The same file also alleges that the French leader went behind Merkels back to schedule meetings in Paris with members of the Social Democrats -- Germanys main opposition party at the time. Another document, dated 2008, was titled Sarkozy sees himself as only one who can resolve the world financial crisis, and said the former French president blamed many of the current economic problems on mistakes made by the US government, but believes that Washington is now heeding some of his advice. One leak describes Sarkozys frustration at US espionage, saying the main sticking point in achieving greater intelligence cooperation is the US desire to continue spying on France