France summons US ambassador over NSA spying leak

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French President Francois Hollande - © Alain Jocard/Pool, EPA
The United States ambassador to France was called in to the French Foreign Ministry Wednesday to answer questions about revelations that the US National Security Agency spied on top French authorities, actions French President Francois Hollande decried as "unacceptable."
According to dpa, Jane Hartley was set to meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in the late afternoon, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.
Hollande also convened top legislators to discuss the revelations, as French politicians scrambled to assess the fallout of the spying by one of its closest allies. A French intelligence official will also travel to the US.
Intelligence reports, published late Tuesday by WikiLeaks along with French media partners Liberation and Mediapart, allege the US spy agency targeted President Francois Hollande and his immediate predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac.
After calling an emergency cabinet meeting with defence ministers on Wednesday, Hollande said in a statement released by the Elysee Palace that the reports outline, "unacceptable facts that have already arisen between the US and France."
"France, which has already strengthened security measures, will not tolerate anything that jeopardizes the safety and protection of its interests," Hollande said in the statement.
The cables detail secret meetings between Hollande and the German political opposition on the Greek crisis, concerns by Sarkozy about US spying on France, and French efforts on the Middle East peace process, among other issues.
The reports echo revelations by former government contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 that the US spied on world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Those documents, which also outlined mass surveillance of telephone and internet activity, damaged US relations with key allies.
The White House declined to comment Tuesday on the specific intelligence allegations.
"As a general matter, we do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose. This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike," spokesman Ned Price said.    

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