France
has summoned the US envoy in Paris over claims that the US spied on
President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors, officials say.
Whistleblower website Wikileaks reports the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Mr Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac between 2006-12.Mr Hollande called an emergency meeting and said France would "not tolerate" acts that threaten its security.
The US said it would not comment on "specific intelligence allegations".
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, added that the US was "not targeting and will not target the communications of Mr Hollande".
The NSA has previously been accused of spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and on Brazilian and Mexican leaders.
None of the leaks is earth-shattering. In one Jacques Chirac pushes for the nomination of Terje Roed-Larsen as UN under-secretary-general. Nicolas Sarkozy says he wants to help Pernod Ricard in a row with the US over rum. Three days after taking office, Francois Hollande calls secret meetings to discuss the Greek crisis.
Most of this could have been gleaned by diplomats at the US embassy simply doing their job - rather than by the spy-station that Liberation newspaper says operates on the embassy roof. The impression given is of an agency scooping up indiscriminate quantities of information, and for little benefit. As the French intelligence expert Francois Heisbourg put it, "They do it because they can."
None of which will allay the anger of the French government. Of course they know that spying goes on - even between friends. But the cardinal rule is not to get found out. When you do, you must expect the full force of diplomatic outrage.
Ms Hartley is expected to visit the foreign ministry in Paris on Wednesday afternoon.
A statement from the French presidency (in French) said the US must respect a promise not to spy on French leaders.
The French statement came after an emergency meeting of security chiefs in Paris.
A senior French intelligence official is meanwhile expected to visit Washington to discuss the reports.
French aware?
Wikileaks began publishing the files on Tuesday, under the heading "Espionnage Elysee" - a reference to the French presidential palace.It said the secret files "derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications" of the three French presidents as well as French ministers and the ambassador to the US.
The Wikileaks files have now been published by France's Liberation newspaper and the Mediapart investigative website.
One of the files, dated 2012, is about Mr Hollande discussing Greece's possible exit from the eurozone. Another one - from 2011 - alleges that Mr Sarkozy was determined to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, possibly without US involvement.
A file dated 2010 suggests that French officials were aware that the US was spying upon them and intended to complain about it.
The NSA has come under increased scrutiny since revelations by former employee Edward Snowden
According to the summary of an intercepted exchange, the French envoy to Washington and Mr Sarkozy's diplomatic adviser discussed Mr Sarkozy's plan to express his "frustration" over US unwillingness to sign a "bilateral intelligence co-operation agreement".
"The main sticking point is the US desire to continue spying on France," the intercept says.
It is unclear whether the material comes from data stolen by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera says.
, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande (R) ...){kind=link}