Ce N'est Pas Acceptable: NSA Spying Bonanza on French Leaders Revealed
Documents revealed by WikiLeaks show the details extracted from phone conversations that allowed for "political, economic and diplomatic" advantage over supposed ally
The U.S. National Security Agency has been conducting high-level digital and phone surveillance against top French government officials, including the nation's three most recent presidents, the media outlet WikiLeaks has revealed by publishing "top secret" intelligence reports that include targeting information and specific intercepts gathered over the last decade.
While indicating the trove of sensitive and potentially embarrassing documents won't be the last, the new revelations offer more evidence--in addition to similar discoveries about NSA spying on top German officials--that not even the U.S. government's closest European allies are considered off-limits when it comes to the spying eyes of its intelligence agencies. In coordination with WikiLeaks, the news was first reported in the French outlets Liberation and Mediapart.
In its release, WikiLeaks references the NSA's spying on Germany, which caused an uproar in that country, but said the new documents related to the spying on the French provide much greater insight into how the U.S. monitors its allies' leaders and the kind of information it is able to collect by doing so. The documents, which can viewed here and here, include lists of "targets" and the contents of "intercepts" derived from U.S. spying on the phone calls of French leaders and ministers in order to gain "political, economic and diplomatic" advantage.
According to WikiLeaks:
The top secret documents derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications of French Presidents Francois Hollande (2012-present), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), and Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), as well as French cabinet ministers and the French Ambassador to the United States. The documents also contain the "selectors" from the target list, detailing the cell phone numbers of numerous officials in the Elysee up to and including the direct cell phone of the President.
Prominent within the top secret cache of documents are intelligence summaries of conversations between French government officials concerning some of the most pressing issues facing France and the international community, including the global financial crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the leadership and future of the European Union, the relationship between the Hollande administration and the German government of Angela Merkel, French efforts to determine the make-up of the executive staff of the United Nations, French involvement in the conflict in Palestine and a dispute between the French and US governments over US spying on France.
WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange said, "The French people have a right to know that their elected government is subject to hostile surveillance from a supposed ally." He added, "French readers can expect more timely and important revelations in the near future."
In response to the news of the spying on France, the French Ambassador to the U.S. was summoned home and a statement from the office of President Francois Hollande expressed grave concerns. "France will not tolerate actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests," the statement said.
Referencing previous revelations of U.S. spying against French officials, the president's office described the new information as "unacceptable". It said such issues over surveillance have "already been the subject of clarification between the US and France, notably at the end of 2013 when the first revelations were made and during a state visit by the president of the Republic to the United States in February 2014. The US authorities made commitments. They need to be recalled and strictly respected."
Hollande also called an emergency cabinet meeting and beckoned top French lawmakers to the Elysee Palace to brief them on the situation.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The U.S. National Security Agency has been conducting high-level digital and phone surveillance against top French government officials, including the nation's three most recent presidents, the media outlet WikiLeaks has revealed by publishing "top secret" intelligence reports that include targeting information and specific intercepts gathered over the last decade.
While indicating the trove of sensitive and potentially embarrassing documents won't be the last, the new revelations offer more evidence--in addition to similar discoveries about NSA spying on top German officials--that not even the U.S. government's closest European allies are considered off-limits when it comes to the spying eyes of its intelligence agencies. In coordination with WikiLeaks, the news was first reported in the French outlets Liberation and Mediapart.
In its release, WikiLeaks references the NSA's spying on Germany, which caused an uproar in that country, but said the new documents related to the spying on the French provide much greater insight into how the U.S. monitors its allies' leaders and the kind of information it is able to collect by doing so. The documents, which can viewed here and here, include lists of "targets" and the contents of "intercepts" derived from U.S. spying on the phone calls of French leaders and ministers in order to gain "political, economic and diplomatic" advantage.
According to WikiLeaks:
The top secret documents derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications of French Presidents Francois Hollande (2012-present), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), and Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), as well as French cabinet ministers and the French Ambassador to the United States. The documents also contain the "selectors" from the target list, detailing the cell phone numbers of numerous officials in the Elysee up to and including the direct cell phone of the President.
Prominent within the top secret cache of documents are intelligence summaries of conversations between French government officials concerning some of the most pressing issues facing France and the international community, including the global financial crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the leadership and future of the European Union, the relationship between the Hollande administration and the German government of Angela Merkel, French efforts to determine the make-up of the executive staff of the United Nations, French involvement in the conflict in Palestine and a dispute between the French and US governments over US spying on France.
WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange said, "The French people have a right to know that their elected government is subject to hostile surveillance from a supposed ally." He added, "French readers can expect more timely and important revelations in the near future."
In response to the news of the spying on France, the French Ambassador to the U.S. was summoned home and a statement from the office of President Francois Hollande expressed grave concerns. "France will not tolerate actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests," the statement said.
Referencing previous revelations of U.S. spying against French officials, the president's office described the new information as "unacceptable". It said such issues over surveillance have "already been the subject of clarification between the US and France, notably at the end of 2013 when the first revelations were made and during a state visit by the president of the Republic to the United States in February 2014. The US authorities made commitments. They need to be recalled and strictly respected."
Hollande also called an emergency cabinet meeting and beckoned top French lawmakers to the Elysee Palace to brief them on the situation.
The U.S. National Security Agency has been conducting high-level digital and phone surveillance against top French government officials, including the nation's three most recent presidents, the media outlet WikiLeaks has revealed by publishing "top secret" intelligence reports that include targeting information and specific intercepts gathered over the last decade.
While indicating the trove of sensitive and potentially embarrassing documents won't be the last, the new revelations offer more evidence--in addition to similar discoveries about NSA spying on top German officials--that not even the U.S. government's closest European allies are considered off-limits when it comes to the spying eyes of its intelligence agencies. In coordination with WikiLeaks, the news was first reported in the French outlets Liberation and Mediapart.
In its release, WikiLeaks references the NSA's spying on Germany, which caused an uproar in that country, but said the new documents related to the spying on the French provide much greater insight into how the U.S. monitors its allies' leaders and the kind of information it is able to collect by doing so. The documents, which can viewed here and here, include lists of "targets" and the contents of "intercepts" derived from U.S. spying on the phone calls of French leaders and ministers in order to gain "political, economic and diplomatic" advantage.
According to WikiLeaks:
The top secret documents derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications of French Presidents Francois Hollande (2012-present), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), and Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), as well as French cabinet ministers and the French Ambassador to the United States. The documents also contain the "selectors" from the target list, detailing the cell phone numbers of numerous officials in the Elysee up to and including the direct cell phone of the President.
Prominent within the top secret cache of documents are intelligence summaries of conversations between French government officials concerning some of the most pressing issues facing France and the international community, including the global financial crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the leadership and future of the European Union, the relationship between the Hollande administration and the German government of Angela Merkel, French efforts to determine the make-up of the executive staff of the United Nations, French involvement in the conflict in Palestine and a dispute between the French and US governments over US spying on France.
WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange said, "The French people have a right to know that their elected government is subject to hostile surveillance from a supposed ally." He added, "French readers can expect more timely and important revelations in the near future."
In response to the news of the spying on France, the French Ambassador to the U.S. was summoned home and a statement from the office of President Francois Hollande expressed grave concerns. "France will not tolerate actions that threaten its security and the protection of its interests," the statement said.
Referencing previous revelations of U.S. spying against French officials, the president's office described the new information as "unacceptable". It said such issues over surveillance have "already been the subject of clarification between the US and France, notably at the end of 2013 when the first revelations were made and during a state visit by the president of the Republic to the United States in February 2014. The US authorities made commitments. They need to be recalled and strictly respected."
Hollande also called an emergency cabinet meeting and beckoned top French lawmakers to the Elysee Palace to brief them on the situation.