Obama calls Hollande amid uproar over US surveillance

United States President Barack Obama called France's President François Hollande on Monday and discussed the widespread anger in France over aggressive surveillance tactics by the National Security Agency.

The call came after leading French newspaper Le Monde reported that the US National Security Agency had secretly monitored 70.3 million phone communications in France over 30 days from 10 December 2012 to 8 January this year. France summoned the US ambassador to explain and called the practice ''totally unacceptable''.

The White House said some recent disclosures about the NSA have been distorted but that some raise legitimate questions for its allies about how US intelligence capabilities are used.

Mexico, another US ally, is also seeing outrage over the same issue after it emerged that millions of calls and emails to from its citizens have also been tapped.

The allegations, the latest from leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden - now holed up in Russia - also marred a visit to Paris by US Secretary of State John Kerry, where he discussed moves to try to end the war in Syria.

At the same time, German weekly Der Spiegel reported the NSA had also hacked into former Mexican president Felipe Calderon's email account.

Obama told the French president that the United States is reviewing its intelligence-gathering to ensure a balance between security and privacy. The White House said both presidents agreed they should continue diplomatic discussions about the issue.

Keeping tabs on allies is classic spycraft but the sweep and scope of the NSA program has irritated Germany, Britain, Brazil, and most recently Mexico and France.

Calling the practice ''totally unacceptable,'' an indignant French government demanded an explanation and summoned US Ambassador Charles Rivkin for answers.

Visiting Paris on an unrelated and previously scheduled trip for talks on the Middle East, Secretary of State John Kerry was unapologetic, but told reporters that the US would discuss the matters privately with officials from France and other concerned countries.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US already is reviewing its intelligence gathering to strike a ''balance between the legitimate security concerns that our citizens have and the privacy concerns that we and our allies have as well about some of these alleged intelligence activities''.

''We certainly hope that it doesn't'' damage the United States' close working relationship with France, she added.