LUXEMBOURG (REUTERS, AP) - France called in the US ambassador on Monday to protest at allegations in Le Monde newspaper about large-scale spying on French citizens by the US National Security Agency, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

"I have immediately summoned the US ambassador and he will be received this morning at the Quai d'Orsay (the French Foreign Ministry)," Fabius told reporters at a European Union foreign ministers' meeeting in Luxembourg.

The Le Monde newspaper said documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the US National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period.

The report, published on Monday, co-written by Glenn Greenwald who originally revealed the NSA surveillance program, found that when certain numbers were used, the conversations were automatically recorded.

The surveillance operation also swept up text messages based on key words, Le Monde reported, based on records from Dec 10 to Jan 7.

Similar programs have been revealed in Britain and Germany.