An Ally-less America Spied on Three French Presidents

Published in Wen Wei Po
(Hong Kong) on 25 June 2015
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Chase Coulson. Edited by Bora Mici.
François Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac were all targets of eavesdropping.

Following the German wiretapping scandal, the U.S. National Security Agency was caught wiretapping yet another ally; this time it was France. Days ago, the whistleblower site WikiLeaks published a series of classified documents claiming that French Presidents Chirac, Sarkozy and Hollande have all been spied on by the NSA at least between 2006 and May 2012. Content includes classified information related to the policy-making process in response to the last Greek debt crisis. The incident has shocked all levels of French society to the core, National Assembly of France lawmaker Jean-Jacques Urvoas expressed: It just goes to show that “the U.S. has no allies.”

The newest leaks have exposed a total of five classified documents from the Elysee Palace, which were all classified as “top secret,” after intelligence officers wiretapped the three French presidents. The document containing a comprehensive analysis of their conversations, characterized the three men’s styles of governing and policy-making. The report left out that, of the five classified documents, only two were shared between members of the Five Eyes, (the FVEY alliance between the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada); the others were all used exclusively by the U.S. side to be read by high-level authorities within the NSA and intelligence channels.

Multiple Departments Monitored; French-U.S. Bilateral Relations Compromised

The documents were published simultaneously in the French left-wing daily newspapers La Liberation and MediaPart, with the latest of them being published on May 22, 2012, which was current French President François Hollande’s first week in office. The documents contain information about a rendezvous between Hollande and incumbent Prime Minister John-Marc Ayrault, in which the two agreed to convene a secret meeting to discuss the ramifications of Greece’s possible defection from the Eurozone, as well as demanding a covert audience with members of Germany’s opposition party. The documents detail Hollande’s insistence that the meeting be kept secret, in order to avoid the outside world believing that France was considering pulling out of the Eurozone with Greece.

Another classified document dated 2008 detailed then-President Sarkozy resigning himself to being “the one who has to solve the financial crisis.”* A 2006 document recorded the arrangements of then-President Chirac’s appointment to the United Nations delegation.

Local French media commentators believe that this issue clearly demonstrates America’s suspicion and lack of trust of its own allies, and French-American relations, even European-American relations, will certainly take a pounding and ultimately backslide. The report points out that although the classified documents did not reveal many French national secrets, it still illustrates that the NSA’s eavesdropping on the French government is a cold, hard fact. La Liberation believes that although the exact amount of classified intelligence seized by the U.S. cannot be exactly ascertained, judging by the actual content of the classified documents, it is certain that the U.S. eavesdropped on three consecutive French presidents, important cabinet members, and French ambassadors stationed in America through their mobile phones, as well as the French Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Defense and National Security Secretarial Office through their land lines.

France’s Summons of American Ambassadors Denied by White House

This issue has aroused a high level of concern in the French public; Hollande called a meeting of the French National Defense Ministry the following day, while the NSA’s behavior was criticized by the Elysee Palace, calling it “intolerable,” demanding that the U.S. strictly abide by previous promises. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius demanded an audience with U.S. ambassadors stationed in France the following day and sent high-level intelligence officials to the U.S. to gather more information about the incident. French Ambassador to the U.S. Gerald Araud tried to cool the incident, remarking, “Every diplomat knows that he or she will be eavesdropped on, and not only by one country. This is just a fact.”*

The French Socialist Party called Washington’s systematic spying of its own allies “stupefying.” Sarkozy’s aides stated that these kinds of eavesdropping methods were unacceptable, while Chirac was unable to be reached for comment. Hollande phoned Obama the day before this report to discuss the situation. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared that America must do everything within its power to mend fences with France.

A White House National Security Commission spokesperson who was contacted the previous evening was unable to confirm the validity of the classified documents, but commented that Washington would not be wiretapping Hollande again, “not now nor in the future,”* adding that French-American relations were indispensable. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the situation.

*Editor's note: Translated correctly, this quotation could not be verified.


竊聽法三任總統美國「無盟友」

奧朗德薩科齊希拉克中招

繼德國之後,美國國家安全局(NSA)再被揭發竊聽另一盟友法國。洩密網站「維基解密」前日公開一批機密文件,聲稱國安局至少從2006年至2012年5月間,先後監聽法國總統希拉克、薩科齊及奧朗德,涉及內容包括法國應對上一次希臘債務危機的決策過程等機密資料。事件震驚法國朝野,法國國會法律委員會主席於爾沃阿則指,事件再次顯示美國眼中沒有盟友。

最新披露的「監聽愛麗舍宮」密件共有5份,全部被國安局列為「最高機密」,屬於結論性文件,即情報人員竊聽3任法國總統後,綜合和分析通話內容所撰寫,描述了3人施政和決策行為的特點。報道稱,5份密件中只有2份是讓「五眼聯盟」(美、英、澳、紐、加)成員共享,其餘都是美方專用,供國安局負責人和情報系統高層閱讀。

監聽多個部門 兩國關係勢損

密件同時由法國左翼報章《解放報》及新聞網站Mediapart整理發布,當中最新一份於2012年5月22日完成,即現任法國總統奧朗德就任後一星期。文件顯示,2012年5月18日,奧朗德與時任總理埃羅見面,同意在巴黎舉行秘密會議,討論希臘可能脫離歐元區產生的影響,又要求私下會見德國在野黨成員。文件描述當時奧朗德強調要將會議保密,免得外界以為法國正認真考慮希臘脫歐一事。

另一份2008年密件顯示,時任法國總統薩科齊自認是「唯一能解決金融危機的人」;2006年一份密件則記載了時任總統希拉克任命駐聯合國代表團的安排。

當地媒體評論認為,事件這充分顯示美國對法國等盟國的猜忌和不信任,法美關係以至歐美關係將進一步受到衝擊。報道指出,雖然密件並沒有披露太多法國國家機密,但顯示了美國國安局監聽法國政府最高層這一事實。《解放報》認為,無法確認美國實際上掌握多少法國機密情報,但從密件內容來看,可以肯定美國監聽了3任法國總統、重要閣員和法國駐美大使的手機,以及法國財政部、農業部、國防和國家安全秘書處的固網電話。

法召見美大使 白宮拒證實

事件引起法國朝野高度關注,奧朗德昨召開國防會議,愛麗舍宮其後發表聲明,批評國安局的行為「不能接受」,又要求美國嚴格遵守此前的承諾。法國外長法比尤斯昨日召見美國駐法大使,並派高級情報官員到美國了解事件。法國駐美大使阿羅德則試圖為事件降溫,表示「所有外交人員都知道自己會被監聽,而且不止被單一國家,這就是現實。」

法國執政社會黨批評華府對盟國政府進行系統性間諜活動令人「驚愕」。薩科齊的幕僚指這種監聽方式無法接受,希拉克則暫未有回應。奧朗德昨日與奧巴馬通電話,討論事件。法國總理瓦爾斯表示,美國必須盡一切方法修補美法關係。

白宮國家安全委員會發言人前晚回應事件時,未有證實密件的真確性,但表示華府「現在及將來」都不會監聽奧朗德,又指美法關係不可或缺。美國國務院則拒絕回應。
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