The French President Francois Hollande, as well as other U.S. allies, have expressed "deep disapproval" and berated Barack Obama over National Security Agency's (NSA) phone interception claims.
On Monday, October 21, the White House acknowledged that its intelligence agencies secretly tapped phone calls in France, which has raised "legitimate questions for our friends and allies".
Reportedly, Hollande demanded an explanation from Obama in a phone conversation and told the U.S. President that the spying was "unacceptable between friends and allies."
According to French daily Le Monde, which published details from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the NSA intercepted 70.3 million phone calls in a 30-day period in France, in secrecy.
Post the phone call between Obama and Hollande, in a statement, the White House admitted the repercussions of the disclosures by Snowden on diplomatic relations with other nations.
"The president and President Hollande discussed recent disclosures in the press - some of which have distorted our activities, and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed," said the White House in a statement. "The president made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share. The two presidents agreed that we should continue to discuss these issues in diplomatic channels."
The French government summoned Charles Rivkin, the U.S. ambassador in Paris, on Monday, October 21, demanding an explanation for the tapping claims. The French demanded that a complete explanation "and a tangible response to our concerns as soon as possible" be provided by Washington.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Prime Minister, also demanded that the U.S. provide "clear answers, justifying the reasons these practices were used, and above all creating the conditions of transparency so these practices can be put to an end".
"We've begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council at the White House.
France joins Brazil, Mexico and Germany in berating United States. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had canceled a state visit to Washington over claims that the U.S. had tapped Rousseff's communications with aides, hacked the state-run oil company's computer network and had gathered data on emails and telephone calls in Brazil.
Mexico also expressed displeasure over news that the NSA had accessed a domain linked to former Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his Cabinet. The NSA had also allegedly read current Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's emails before he was elected.
In Germany, the government had canceled a Cold War-era surveillance agreement over reports that NSA was tapping calls and collecting data in Europe. "I can understand the anger in France," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "You don't do that among partners. You don't do that among friends."
The U.S. apparently avoids spying on its coalition of "'Five Eye" partners - Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - but considers other countries "fair game."
