NSA spied on French exports bids, finance chiefs in a decade of

The WikiLeaks website has said the United States National Security Agency (NSA) monitored the communications of two successive French finance ministers and gathered information on French economic and business activity.

According to the latest documents, François Baroin and Pierre Moscovici, who headed the finance ministry between 2011 and 2014, were targeted by the NSA. Other documents show that from 2002-2012, the NSA eavesdropped on all French export bids worth more than $200 million, from oil and gas to telecommunications and biotechnology.

Late on Monday, French newspaper Liberation reported, citing WikiLeaks, that at least 100 French companies, including nearly all companies listed on the country’s benchmark stock market index CAC 40 – whose “activities are considered strategic for the nation” – were eavesdropped on.

The new charges come just a week after it was revealed the NSA had spied on three successive French presidents from 2006 to 2012, sparking a diplomatic row between Paris and Washington.

“Unacceptable between allies and friends”, Moscovici tweeted.

A spokesman for France’s overseas ministry declined to touch upon Monday.

He leaked classified intelligence documents showing massive collections of phone records of Americans and foreign nationals as well as political leaders around the world, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly asserted that the United States does not carry out electronic surveillance for commercial gain.

While the U.S. collects intelligence about financial and monetary issues, “What we don’t do, as we’ve got stated many occasions, is use our overseas intelligence capabilities to steal the commerce secrets and techniques of overseas corporations on behalf of – or give intelligence we gather to – USA corporations to reinforce their worldwide competitiveness or improve their backside line”, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated in September 2013.

It is unknown if the documents published by WikiLeaks were provided by Edward Snowden. Snowden took refuge in Russian Federation after releasing tens of hundreds of categorized D.J. intelligence paperwork in 2013.