Two police officers in Paris Photo: VCG

In response to some media reports claiming that French authorities on Thursday charged four people, including two Chinese nationals, on suspicion of having intercepted sensitive military data for Beijing, the Chinese Embassy in France told the Global Times on Friday that it has taken note of relevant reports by French media. It has not yet received any notification from the French side.

Two Chinese nationals suspected of trying to intercept satellite communications from a base in an Airbnb rental property in southwestern France have been placed under formal investigation, Reuters reported, citing the Paris public prosecutor's office.

Local authorities arrested four individuals in the southwestern Gironde region and the Paris prosecutor's office said two individuals have been remanded into custody and two others placed under judicial supervision, without offering details on their identities, France 24 reported. 

The case was triggered after local residents on January 30 spotted the installation of a satellite dish approximately two meters in diameter, which coincided with a local internet outage, Radio France International (RFI) said. 

A search the following day led to the discovery of "a system of computers connected to satellite dishes enabling the capture of satellite data", according to the prosecutor's office, per RFI. 

The set-up made it possible to intercept "exchanges between military entities", it said, according to the media report. 

The two Chinese nationals involved had allegedly travelled to France with the intent to capture data from the Starlink satellite internet system and other "entities of vital importance" and transmit it back to China, France 24 reported. 

China has consistently opposed the hyping of so-called "Chinese spies" and the smearing of China. The Chinese government has always required Chinese citizens overseas to abide by local laws and regulations, and has urged Chinese-funded enterprises to operate in compliance with the law, the Chinese embassy said. 

We hope the French side will enforce the law impartially and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in France, the embassy noted. 

This is not the first time that some French media hyping up over so-called Chinese spy. In response to a question about a French professor in France that has been charged with allowing a Chinese delegation to visit some sensitive sites, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press conference on January 15 that she is not familiar with the specifics. 

"Let me point out that we always oppose vilifying China by peddling the so-called 'Chinese spy' narrative," Mao said.