NSA 'snooped on' French diplomats too while based in US

A French daily newspaper has reportedly claimed that the US' National Security Agency allegedly spied on French diplomats in Washington and at the United Nations by using a special programme.

Le Monde has claimed that it has obtained NSA's internal memos which detail the use of a sophisticated surveillance programme called Genie.

According to the BBC, the latest claims come amidst the recent assurance given by US Secretary of State John Kerry to the French government that America is working on its surveillance programmes to strike a balance between citizens' privacy and national security.

The newspaper had recently claimed that the NSA spied on 70.3 million phone calls in France between 10 December 2012 and 8 January 2013.

Le Monde's claims are based on revelations made by former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden who unveiled the US government's alleged secret surveillance programmes.

The newspaper article suggests that the spy agency used the Genie programme to introduce bugs in the French Embassy in Washington (codenamed 'Wabash') and into the computers of the French delegation at the UN (codenamed 'Blackfoot').

The newspaper further revealed that in 2011, the US allocated 652 million dollars in funding for the alleged programme, the report added.