WikiLeaks: US Spied on 3 French Presidents

Expect an angry response from Paris
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 23, 2015 7:12 PM CDT
WikiLeaks: US Spied on 3 French Presidents
French President Francois Hollande, right, and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy speak on the steps of the Elysee Palace, Paris, on Jan. 11, 2015.   (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A strange one, courtesy of WikiLeaks: The US eavesdropped on three French presidents, learning among other things that France was angry the US was eavesdropping on it. That tidbit is courtesy of a new WikiLeaks disclosure that the NSA wiretapped current French leader Francois Hollande and predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, reports AP. The wiretapping, reported by the French newspaper Liberation and the Mediapart website, took place from 2006 to 2012. No official response yet from France, but Hollande has called an emergency meeting of his top security officials for tomorrow morning.

No bombshells appear to be in the mix. In examples cited by USA Today, Hollande worries about Greece leaving the EU, Sarkozy talks about France's responsibility to help resolve the world financial crisis, and Chirac discusses trying to land a UN appointment for an ally. But one interesting leaked document has potential topics of discussion between Sarkozy and President Obama before a 2010 meeting. "As (French officials) understand it, the main sticking point is the U.S. desire to continue spying on France." (Angela Merkel wasn't pleased when it emerged that she was a target, too.)

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