The NSA spied on two French finance ministers, according to WikiLeaks

Pierre Muscovici is one of two finance ministers alleged to have been spied on by the NSA (Thierry Charlier/AFP)

Two French finance ministers were spied on by American security forces, according to a new report by Wikileaks.

The website said that former minister François Baroin and Pierre Moscovici were both targeted by the National Security Agency while they were in post between 2011 and 2014.

The allegations were published by French newspaper Libération and website Mediapart just a week after WikiLeaks revealed the NSA had spied on three French presidents from at least 2006 to 2012.

This lead the government to summon the US Ambassador to protest over their treatment by the spy agency.

WikiLeaks said in a document dating from 2002 and renewed in 2012 the NSA had asked its counterparts in Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand to collect information on its proposed French export contracts in sectors including telecoms, electricity, nuclear energy, transport and health.

No specific companies were named in the documents.

Responding to the allegations on Twitter last week, Moscovici, who is now the EU's commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, said he would be shocked if the allegations were true.

He said: “If I have been listened to by the NSA, I am profoundly shocked and demand an explanation from the American authorities. Unacceptable between allies and friends.”

A spokesman for the French foreign ministry declined to comment on Monday.

Although the NSA declined to comment on these latest allegations, US intelligence officials have denied they carry out surveillance for economic gain.

In September 2013, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said: “What we do not do, as we have said many times, is use our foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of - or give intelligence we collect to - US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line."

Additional reporting by Reuters