On May 22 , 2010 , two days after the resignation was announced , U.S. officials leaked to '' The New York Times '' that Blair 's dismissal had been related to his continual pushing of a U.S. – French intelligence-sharing project " with other countries " . Blair and Bernard Bajolet , intelligence advisor to French President Nicolas Sarkozy , had commenced negotiations on the pact between October and December 2009 ; the treaty was to have been a legally binding reciprocal no-spying arrangement between France and the United States , whereby each country would take over operations for the other in each 's home-territory . Under the proposed treaty , U.S. operations in France would therefore be run by French intelligence . This was to be a signed treaty arrangement , a more formal version than the UK – USA Security Agreement . The month before the treaty failure , President Sarkozy made a number of U.S. visits ; the first visit of the French President was on March 31 , 2010 . During the visit , Sarkozy was the first head of state invited by Obama to dine in the White House 's private dining quarters . Press releases from both governments made mention of the close relationship between the two heads of state . Mr. Sarkozy was also in Washington for the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit from April 12 – 14 , immediately prior to President Obama 's rejection of the treaty produced by eight months of negotiations by Blair
2010 Nuclear Security Summit
2010 Nuclear Security Summit
Dennis C. Blair