REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PARIS -- France said Wednesday that spying was "unacceptable between allies" after WikiLeaks said leaked documents showed that the US wiretapped President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors.
"It is unacceptable between allies," French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said, shortly before an emergency meeting called by Hollande with his security chiefs.
"It is difficult to accept that between allies... there can be this kind of activity, particularly related to wiretapping linked to the president of the Republic," Le Foll said.
"When we are fighting terrorism, one has trouble imagining or understanding what would motivate an ally to spy on his allies," he added.
Le Foll also tried to play down the controversy, saying it was not something that should trigger a major crisis.
"There are enough dangerous crises in the world today," he said.
France is to convene a meeting of its defence council Wednesday after the communications -- classed as "Top Secret" and revealing spying on Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac from 2006 to 2012 -- were published online by WikiLeaks, in partnership with French newspaper Liberation and the Mediapart website.
However, the United States refused Tuesday to confirm or deny reports that the US National Security Agency had spied on three French presidents.
"We are not going to comment on specific intelligence allegations," the White House National Security Council told reporters.
"As a general matter, we do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose," it said.
"This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike," it added, in a statement also released by the office of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Washington was responding after a report by the French newspaper Liberation and investigative news website Mediapart, citing leaked files provided by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
According to the apparently classified US documents, the United States wiretapped former French presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy and current leader Francois Hollande.
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