Poor François Hollande.
Fresh allegations that the U.S. carried out wholesale spying on French leaders came at the worst possible time for France’s president: just as parliament was about to vote in sweeping new surveillance powers for his Socialist government.
While parliament prepared to pass the Patriot Act-style security bill, Hollande had little choice but to put on an easily-mocked show of indignation over NSA documents, obtained by Wikileaks, which alleged that Washington had eavesdropped on three presidents, including him, between 2006 and 2012.
Hollande went through the motions of calling up President Barack Obama for a brief chat that yielded an …read more
Source: European Voice