Obama tells Hollande US was not spying on him

Washington: US President Barack Obama has assured his French counterpart Francois Hollande that his administration was not spying on him.

Obama spoke to Hollande over phone following WikiLeaks reports that claimed the US National Security Agency eavesdropped on the last three French presidents from 2006 until 2012.

The US President told Hollande that he was not a spying target and reiterated his commitment to bilateral ties.

"The President reiterated that we have to abide by the commitment we made to our French counterparts in late 2013 that we are not targeting and will not target the communications of the French President," the White House said.

"We've been very clear that foreign intelligence activities are only conducted when there is a specific, validated national security interest involved," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

He said the US was "substantially" contributing to France's effort to keep its citizens safe.

"There is obviously a very persistent extremist, terrorist threat inside of France right now. And we are pleased that we can substantially contribute to their effort to keep France and its citizens safe," Earnest said.