WikiLeaks documents revealing NSA surveillance of the past three French Presidents is the latest controversy to hit the organisation.
The documents reveal that the NSA ‘directly targeted’ the communications of French Presidents’ Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, in addition to French cabinet ministers and the French Ambassador to the United States.
Some of the most prominent documents contain intelligence summaries of conversations between French government officials regarding topics such as the global financial crisis, the leadership and future of the EU and the relationship between Hollande and the German government.
Previous revelations of the NSA’s activities in Europe revealed the spying on communications of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German officials, this prompted an official inquiry into intelligence operations with the U.S. which is still ongoing.
The White House National Security Council, 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 validated national security purpose."
The documents titled "Espionnage Élysée" will no doubt cause great anger in France, a country which is formally a close ally of the U.S. and plays a key role in US associated institutions including the G7, NATO and WTO.
Julian Assange, founder Wikileaks, said: "The French people have a right to know that their elected government is subject to hostile surveillance from a supposed ally. We are proud of our work with leading French publishers Liberation and Mediapart to bring this story to light. French readers can expect more timely and important revelations in the near future."
