The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


Current affairsNews

Spying is “unacceptable between friends and allies” president Hollande tells Obama

Spying is “unacceptable between friends and allies” president Hollande tells Obama
22 October 2013
Bethany Bishop
Bethany Bishop
Avatar
Bethany Bishop
22 October 2013

French president François Hollande and US president Barack Obama have spoken out following French newspaper Le Monde’s reports of alleged mass-scale US spying on French citizens on Monday.

The White House commented: “The president and President Hollande discussed recent disclosures in the press – some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed.”

There are assumptions that the national relationship has suffered but the presidents have agreed to pursue the issue through diplomatic channels.
Photo: Pete Souza/White House office

The focus of the US National Security Agency (NSA) appeared to be on individuals who were suspected to have an involvement in terrorism. However, the French paper also reported that persons connected with business and politics were similarly targeted. 

The allegations were detailed, as Le Monde described the NSA to have recorded 70.3 million fragments of French telephone data between 10th December 2012 and 8th January 2013. Overall, that means a collection of tens of thousands of French telephone records.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, contributing to the investigation and resolution of the issue, deemed the reports to be completely unacceptable. The imminent panic over the confidentiality of citizens triggered the immediate summoning of US ambassador Charles Rivkin.

It was disclosed that Rivkin promised Fabius’s chief of staff that concerns would be immediately delivered to Washington. He offered no further comments but was quick to stress the two countries’ alliance, saying: “This relationship, on a military, intelligence, special forces level is the best it’s been in a generation.”

However, Laurent Fabius clearly stressed anxieties to peripheral reporters following a meeting in Luxemburg with EU counterparts. He said: “We have extremely useful cooperation with the United States in the struggle against terrorism, but this cooperation does not justify everything.”

The phone call between the two presidents has left Obama emphasising that the US’ means of gathering intelligence is being revised. He also underlined and acknowledged the need for balance between legitimate security concerns and the concerns of privacy that every person has.

It’s speculated that the NSA’s surveillance scheme may well have tarnished the alliance between the two countries on issues of national security. The presidents only recently unified to pressure Syrian president Bashar al-Assad into quitting.

Other European allies of the United States have mixed feelings about speculations that the NSA has been practising its surveillance policy in foreign destinations across the world.

Fabius outlined that president Hollande will be raising the issue of citizens’ privacy and discussing ways to go about protecting its breach at an EU meeting to be held this week.

Bethany Bishop

Related Items

More in Current Affairs

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Why even small retailers have to do financial audits

The editorial unit
Read More

Present and future of online gaming

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More

Snapchat Spectacles come to the UK

The editorial unit
Read More

Macron’s win: What are the financial implications for the UK?

The editorial unit
Read More

Wi-Fi in the sky

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Marighella
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Babylon Beyond Borders at the Bush Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Rip It Up: The 60s at Garrick Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Johnstons of Elgin autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Come From Away at Phoenix Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Hanger autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • STEVE O SMITH autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Pringle of Scotland autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Paul Costelloe autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Cold Pursuit
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Capernaum
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • An interview with Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) director Claudio Giovannesi
    Berlinale

Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Energy secretary: energy firms must come clean on profits‏
Call for investigation into police ethics to address public trust issues