Public prosecutor Jean-Pierre Thierry has ordered the French DST counterespionage service to investigate whether the network has been used to carry out industrial espionage.
"One could ask the Americans and the British to stop Echelon. However, it is a formidable tool for fighting corruption, organised crime or terrorism," he said. "One could also propose that (Echelon) be under international authority."
Divided loyalties?
This follows a report from investigative journalist Duncan Campbell to the EU revealing evidence of Echelon being used to secure business contracts for American firms.
Further evidence of Britain and America's compliance in industrial espionage through Echelon came in the form of CIA documents published in the British press yesterday.
These apparently reveal that numerous international business contracts in Brazil, China, the Middle East as well as Europe depended on espionage.
CÃÆ'Ã,©dric Ingrand of ZDNet France contributed to this report.
The issue is particularly tricky for Britain because it has European treaty obligations to neighbors in Europe but also an extremely strong intelligence relationship with the US. (See World Under Watch, ZDNet UK's Echelon News Special.)
