WikiLeaks: US spied on 3 French presidents, Hollande calls emergency meeting

[jimmy olsen]

Given that we did this to the Germans, I would assume that we did this to every world leader of note.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/23/francois-hollande-emergency-meeting-wikileaks-us-spied-three-presidents-france

François Hollande calls emergency meeting after WikiLeaks reveals US spied on three French presidents

The French president, François Hollande, has called an emergency meeting of his country's defence council for Wednesday morning after revelations that American agents spied on three successive French presidents between 2006 and 2012. According to WikiLeaks documents published late on Tuesday, even the French leaders' mobile phone conversations were listened to and recorded.

The leaked US documents, marked "top secret", were based on phone taps and filed in an NSA document labelled "Espionnage Elysée" (Elysée Spy), according to the newspaper Libération and investigative news website Mediapart. The US was listening to the conversations of centre-right president Jacques Chirac, his successor Nicolas Sarkozy, and the current French leader, Socialist François Hollande, elected in 2012.

The recorded conversations, which were handled by the summary services unit at the NSA, were said to reveal few state secrets but show clear evidence of the extent of American spying on countries considered allies. WikiLeaks documents suggest that other US spy targets included French cabinet ministers and the French ambassador to the United States.

"The documents contain the 'selectors' from the target list, detailing the cell phone numbers of numerous officials in the Elysée up to and including the direct cell phone of the president," a report of the taps published in the French media revealed.

The revelations come as France gives its domestic intelligence and surveillance services controversial greater powers to combat jihadist networks, with more permissions to bug phones and licences to carry out mass surveillance on the internet.

In an article co-authored by Julian Assange, the French newspaper Libération pointed out that in matters of spying, there are no friends. "Spying abroad is the ultimate 'grey zone' in surveillance – it is also, in France, the real blind spot of the planned law on surveillance, expected to be adopted this Wednesday," said the WikiLeaks report.

Mediapart said: "For almost ten years, the United States has listened into French presidents ... it was all classed top secret or 'special intelligence'. In the five documents that we are publishing, four were marked with a G, kept for the most 'highly sensitive material', others were labelled 'NF', stipulating that they must not be communicated to foreign countries in any circumstances. Most were marked 'unconventional', meaning they had been got through hacking.


The documents published by Mediapart suggest that the Americans were tapping into François Hollande's conversations from the moment he was elected in 2012.


The Elysée has not commented on the revelations except to say it is looking at the leaks to see "what is involved". Sources close to Nicolas Sarkozy told journalists the spying was "unacceptable as a general rule and even more so among allies".


Ned Price, spokesperson for the NSA, said: "We are not going to comment on specific intelligence allegations. As a general matter, we do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and national security purpose. This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike."

[The Brain]

Did the US torture the presidents? Sorry, did the US use enhanced torture techniques on the presidents?

[KRonn]

Every nation is spying on everyone else. Cyber attacks going on by many nations. China just hacked the US Office of Personnel Management and got records of millions of Americans, a lot of it security clearance info and more. So I don't see why this issue is such a big deal anymore.

[Razgovory]

I half expected to see "WikiLeaks: US spied on 3 French presidents, French courts subpoena records for bribery case".

[Martinus]

It is quite obvious Hollande has to react. I am surprised people here are surprised.

[Duque de Bragança]

Flanby will send a sternly worded letter.
Yet the NSA should prioritise its spying objectives, as said before with Merkel and Germany.

[DontSayBanana]

Every nation is spying on everyone else. Cyber attacks going on by many nations. China just hacked the US Office of Personnel Management and got records of millions of Americans, a lot of it security clearance info and more. So I don't see why this issue is such a big deal anymore.

And then cried that we need to play nicer on cybersecurity.  Fucking CCP.

[Berkut]

The recorded conversations, which were handled by the summary services unit at the NSA, were said to reveal few state secrets but show clear evidence of the extent of American spying on countries considered allies.

I don't understand how this sentence is relevant to the rest of the article.

[Ed Anger]

They bugged Hollidaise's scooter that he used for his romantic adventures.

[dps]

I would hope that we've spied on every French president, not just 3 of 'em.

[Valmy]

It is quite obvious Hollande has to react. I am surprised people here are surprised.

Is somebody here surprised?

The spying on Sarkozy had to be entertaining.

[Razgovory]

It is quite obvious Hollande has to react. I am surprised people here are surprised.

Is somebody here surprised?

The spying on Sarkozy had to be entertaining.

"There is some sort of electronic interference, do you you think you can cut that annoying whine out of it?

Uh, that's not interference, sir".