Moroccan intelligence spied on the phones of French President Emmanuel Macron and former Prime Minister Dora Philippe, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

In addition to eavesdropping on 14 French government officials which occurred in 2019, "It is yet unclear whether Moroccan intelligence agencies succeeded in spying on the President's phones and other members of the Government, or not," Le Monde said.

The facts found "would be deemed quite serious if verified," the Elysee Palace informed Le Monde.

On Monday, France denounced what it called "shocking facts" about press and human rights reports claiming that Morocco spied on French journalists "via an Israeli surveillance operation."

"These are extremely shocking acts and, if proven, are extremely serious," government Spokesperson Gabriel Attal told France Info in an interview.

Morocco "spied on the smartphones of French politicians and journalists, as well as legal campaigners in Morocco, including imprisoned activist Omar Radi," according to the inquiry.

Pegasus, designed by an Israeli private corporation that works closely with the Israeli government, aids in the surveillance of cellphones by infecting them with a virus that enables the storage of photographs, conversations, and documents.

Reports of worldwide espionage targeting activists and journalists using the Pegasus program established by the NSO group have been criticized by human rights organizations, the media, the European Union, and various countries.