WikiLeaks: NSA eavesdropped on last three French presidents

PARIS – WikiLeaks published documents late Tuesday that it says show the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on the last three French presidents, releasing material which appeared to capture officials in Paris talking candidly about Greece’s economy, relations with Germany – and, ironically, American espionage.

The release caused an uproar among French politicians, although it didn’t reveal any huge surprises or secrets. France itself is on the verge of approving broad new surveillance powers and is among several U.S. allies that rely heavily on American spying powers when trying to prevent terrorist and other threats.

There was no instant confirmation of the accuracy of the documents released in collaboration with French daily newspaper Liberation and investigative website Mediapart, but WikiLeaks has a track record of publishing intelligence and diplomatic material. It appeared serious enough to prompt an emergency meeting of President Francois Hollande’s defense council, according to presidential aides.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told the Associated Press he was confident the documents were authentic, noting that WikiLeaks’ previous mass disclosures – including a large cache of Saudi diplomatic memos released last week – have proved to be accurate.

Hollande’s office didn’t comment, though his Socialist Party issued an angry statement saying the reports suggest “a truly stupefying state paranoia.” Even if the government was aware of such intercepts, the party said, that doesn’t mean “that this massive, systematic, uncontrolled eavesdropping is tolerable.”

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price released a statement Tuesday evening saying the U.S. is “not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande.”