Awww

France has expressed "regret" for the country's delay in granting Bolivian President Evo Morales permission to use French airspace Tuesday.

[...]

French President Francois Hollande told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that there was "conflicting information" about the plane passengers. He said permission was granted as soon as he knew it was Morales' plane.

  alJazeera

Yeah, sure. Just whose plane did he think it was?

Morales’ plane, on its way home from Moscow, had been forced to land in the Austrian capital, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic row and was likened by Morales to a "13-hour kidnapping".

[...]

Bolivia has accused Washington of pressuring European countries to keep him from traveling home over the “groundless rumours”.

Morales urged European countries to "free themselves from the US empire" as he arrived home late on Wednesday .

"They are not going to frighten us, because we are a people with dignity and sovereignty," he said.

Late on Wednesday, a group of around 100 protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at the French embassy in the Bolivian capital, smashing windows. They also burned French flags.

Perhaps THAT’s why the French thought it well-advised to apologize?

And perhaps, a little pressure at home?

We know Britain is under pressure at home over its own spying.  I dare say we can't expect much more than faux outrage from Europe about our world-wide spying activities, since they're doing the same thing.

As Barack Obama put it: 

"I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders," Obama said. "That is how intelligence services operate."

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.