Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower who leaked classified documents detailing government surveillance programmes, is calling on France to grant him asylum.

The former US National Security Agency contractor is currently living in Russia to avoid prosecution in the US.

“Protecting whistleblowers is not a hostile act”, he told France’s Inter radio on Monday, as he appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Welcoming someone like me is not an attack on the United States”.

He unsuccessfully applied for asylum in France in 2013 under Mr Macron’s predecessor, Francois Hollande, and has also sought asylum in several other countries.

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