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| France Denounces Revelations of Spying by N.S.A. | France Denounces Revelations of Spying by N.S.A. |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — The French government reacted with anger on Wednesday to revelations about extensive eavesdropping by the United States government on the private conversations of senior French leaders, including three presidents and dozens of senior government figures. | PARIS — The French government reacted with anger on Wednesday to revelations about extensive eavesdropping by the United States government on the private conversations of senior French leaders, including three presidents and dozens of senior government figures. |
| President François Hollande called an emergency meeting of the Defense Council on Wednesday morning to discuss the revelations published by the French news website Mediapart and the left-leaning newspaper Libération about spying by the National Security Agency. | President François Hollande called an emergency meeting of the Defense Council on Wednesday morning to discuss the revelations published by the French news website Mediapart and the left-leaning newspaper Libération about spying by the National Security Agency. |
| In a spare but strongly worded statement released after the meeting, the government said that the behavior was “unacceptable” and that it would not “tolerate any actions that put French security and the protection of French interests in danger.” The revelations come as France is debating legislation that would allow the mass collection of data collection, as well as more targeted eavesdropping by its intelligence services. | |
| The new information appears to come from the WikiLeaks trove of documents released by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden and is from the period 2006 to 2012. Julian Assange, a founder of WikiLeaks, is listed as one of the authors of the Mediapart and Libération articles. | |
| This is the second time that WikiLeaks revelations have upended American diplomatic ties with a close ally. Relations between Washington and Berlin cooled significantly after reports in October 2013 accused the N.S.A. of monitoring one of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphones, although Germany’s federal prosecutor dropped a formal investigation this month because of a lack of evidence. | This is the second time that WikiLeaks revelations have upended American diplomatic ties with a close ally. Relations between Washington and Berlin cooled significantly after reports in October 2013 accused the N.S.A. of monitoring one of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphones, although Germany’s federal prosecutor dropped a formal investigation this month because of a lack of evidence. |
| The Mediapart and Libération articles featured conversations involving three French presidents: Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Mr. Hollande. The information that was released was largely predictable, although it certainly was not the kind of information that anyone involved would want distributed to a wider audience. | The Mediapart and Libération articles featured conversations involving three French presidents: Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Mr. Hollande. The information that was released was largely predictable, although it certainly was not the kind of information that anyone involved would want distributed to a wider audience. |
| Notes written by N.S.A. analysts about conversations in 2012 between Mr. Hollande and his prime minister at the time, Jean-Marc Ayrault, show that Mr. Hollande was worried about the economic situation in Greece. Fearing that Ms. Merkel was too rigid in her approach, he reached out to the Social Democratic Party in Germany, which was in the opposition at the time. | Notes written by N.S.A. analysts about conversations in 2012 between Mr. Hollande and his prime minister at the time, Jean-Marc Ayrault, show that Mr. Hollande was worried about the economic situation in Greece. Fearing that Ms. Merkel was too rigid in her approach, he reached out to the Social Democratic Party in Germany, which was in the opposition at the time. |
| Mr. Hollande leads the Socialist Party in France, but as a national leader he would be expected to deal with his counterpart rather than with an opposition party. | Mr. Hollande leads the Socialist Party in France, but as a national leader he would be expected to deal with his counterpart rather than with an opposition party. |
| Mr. Sarkozy comes across in the documents as grandiose, expressing the view that he is the one who can “solve the world financial crisis,” according to one cable. | Mr. Sarkozy comes across in the documents as grandiose, expressing the view that he is the one who can “solve the world financial crisis,” according to one cable. |
| Mr. Sarkozy is expected to be a candidate for the 2017 presidential elections. | Mr. Sarkozy is expected to be a candidate for the 2017 presidential elections. |
| The only cable that features Mr. Chirac suggests that his highly detailed instructions for his foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, were the product of worries that the minister was unreliable. The comment in the cable reads: “Chirac’s detailed orders may be in response to the foreign minister’s propensity, amply demonstrated in the past and the impetus behind a number of presidential reprimands, for making ill-timed or inaccurate remarks.” | The only cable that features Mr. Chirac suggests that his highly detailed instructions for his foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, were the product of worries that the minister was unreliable. The comment in the cable reads: “Chirac’s detailed orders may be in response to the foreign minister’s propensity, amply demonstrated in the past and the impetus behind a number of presidential reprimands, for making ill-timed or inaccurate remarks.” |
| The White House was quick to release a statement saying that there was currently no surveillance of the French president and that it would not eavesdrop on him, and describing the French as “indispensable partners.” The statement made no reference to past practices, however, and also left the door open for future surveillance — in the case of “a valid national security purpose.” | The White House was quick to release a statement saying that there was currently no surveillance of the French president and that it would not eavesdrop on him, and describing the French as “indispensable partners.” The statement made no reference to past practices, however, and also left the door open for future surveillance — in the case of “a valid national security purpose.” |
| “We are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande,” the National Security Council, which is made of President Obama’s senior national security advisers and cabinet officials, said in a statement released early Wednesday. | |
| “Indeed, as we have said previously, 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,” the statement said. “We work closely with France on all matters of international concern, and the French are indispensable partners.” | “Indeed, as we have said previously, 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,” the statement said. “We work closely with France on all matters of international concern, and the French are indispensable partners.” |
| Mr. Sarkozy has not yet commented on the revelations. Several of his former ministers and top aides denounced the practice, but his former diplomatic counselor, Jean-David Levitte, said he was “not surprised” by the articles, adding that as France’s ambassador to the United Nations, he had always realized he was being listened to. “Once one has realized that it is happening, one adapts one’s practices,” he told Mediapart. | Mr. Sarkozy has not yet commented on the revelations. Several of his former ministers and top aides denounced the practice, but his former diplomatic counselor, Jean-David Levitte, said he was “not surprised” by the articles, adding that as France’s ambassador to the United Nations, he had always realized he was being listened to. “Once one has realized that it is happening, one adapts one’s practices,” he told Mediapart. |
| The French Foreign Ministry formally called in the United States ambassador to France, Jane D. Hartley, on Wednesday to express its displeasure. She was due to meet with Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister, on Wednesday afternoon. | The French Foreign Ministry formally called in the United States ambassador to France, Jane D. Hartley, on Wednesday to express its displeasure. She was due to meet with Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister, on Wednesday afternoon. |
| Although it was not clear what method the N.S.A. used to gather the data that was disclosed on Tuesday, most of the leaked cables have the word “unconventional” typed below the text, and one includes the notation “foreign satellite.” The cables are unsigned, and it is not known who wrote them. | Although it was not clear what method the N.S.A. used to gather the data that was disclosed on Tuesday, most of the leaked cables have the word “unconventional” typed below the text, and one includes the notation “foreign satellite.” The cables are unsigned, and it is not known who wrote them. |
| Only five documents — one on Mr. Hollande, three on Mr. Sarkozy and one on Mr. Chirac — were released by the two news outlets, but a WikiLeaks employee in Paris, Juan Branca, said that more information concerning France would be made public in the coming days. | |
| The lead news article published in Libération said that the documents made available to the newspaper and to Mediapart included the numbers for the landlines and cellphones for a number of top officials, including Mr. Sarkozy. | The lead news article published in Libération said that the documents made available to the newspaper and to Mediapart included the numbers for the landlines and cellphones for a number of top officials, including Mr. Sarkozy. |
| The article did not suggest that Mr. Hollande’s cellphone was targeted, and it said that communications on the “red phones” used by the presidents “were not compromised.” | The article did not suggest that Mr. Hollande’s cellphone was targeted, and it said that communications on the “red phones” used by the presidents “were not compromised.” |
| WikiLeaks did not identify the source of the documents, although the initial tranche it published appeared to predate the spring of 2013, when Mr. Snowden took an archive of intelligence documents to Hong Kong and gave it to several journalists. | WikiLeaks did not identify the source of the documents, although the initial tranche it published appeared to predate the spring of 2013, when Mr. Snowden took an archive of intelligence documents to Hong Kong and gave it to several journalists. |
| The documents also seemed to predate a policy change that Mr. Obama made 18 months ago regarding the surveillance of foreign leaders, after the uproar over the suspected monitoring of Ms. Merkel’s cellphone. | |
| The White House developed a policy that required higher-level administration review before the N.S.A. could target a foreign leader for surveillance, calling for officials to weigh the value of the information against the risk and potential harm if the spying came to light. | |
| The administration did not disclose at the time how many foreign leaders would be removed from routine eavesdropping, but Mr. Obama said in a January 2014 speech on surveillance policy that he had put significant new curbs in place. | The administration did not disclose at the time how many foreign leaders would be removed from routine eavesdropping, but Mr. Obama said in a January 2014 speech on surveillance policy that he had put significant new curbs in place. |
| “The leaders of our close friends and allies deserve to know that if I want to know what they think about an issue, I’ll pick up the phone and call them, rather than turning to surveillance,” Mr. Obama said in the speech. | |
| He added, “Given the understandable attention that this issue has received, I have made clear to the intelligence community that unless there is a compelling national security purpose, we will not monitor the communications of heads of state and government of our close friends and allies.” |