French official: NSA spying unacceptable

A French official told the U.S. ambassador on Monday that reports of widespread National Security Agency surveillance in the country were unacceptable.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported Monday that the NSA had collected more than 70 million French phone records during a 30-day period earlier this year.

{mosads}U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin was summoned to the French foreign ministry Monday after the report.

Rivkin was told “such practices between partners are totally unacceptable, and that he must assure us that they are no longer going on,” according to the French foreign ministry. “We asked for a prompt and tangible response to our concerns.”

Rivkin said in a statement that the U.S. relationship with France is strong, and said he would relay France’s sentiment back to Washington. Rivkin added the United States does not comment on alleged intelligence activities. 

France’s interior minister, Manuel Valls, on Monday called the reports “shocking” and “totally unacceptable.”

Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to meet with France’s foreign minister Tuesday about peace talks in Syria. He arrived in the country Monday morning.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will bring up the NSA surveillance when the two meet, though it will not be the main issue.

The Le Monde report is only the latest revelation about NSA surveillance around the world after contractor Edward Snowden leaked a trove of classified documents earlier this year.

Similar programs have been previously revealed in Britain and Germany, according to reports.

Over the weekend, a German newspaper reported that the NSA hacked into the email of former Mexican President Felipe Calderón amid years of eavesdropping on the country’s government.

Earlier this year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff canceled a trip to Washington after reports of NSA spying in the country.

—This report was originally published at 8:09 a.m. and last updated at 11:29 a.m.