French opposition attacks government over Sarkozy phone taps France's opposition party accuses government ministers of lying about when they found out that investigators had tapped the phone of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says that both he and Justice Minister Christiane Taubira were made aware of the phone-tapping on the 26th of February, despite Taubira claiming she wasn't aware of the surveillance until last week. File images.