France said Thursday that it would not grant asylum to former U.S. National Security contractor Edward Snowden because "it was not the time."

Snowden, 36, who has been living in Russia since 2013, applied for asylum in France that year — but Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that then the government "considered it was not the time.

"I don't see what has changed," Le Drian told CNews TV in France, The Independent reports.

Snowden said Monday that he would "love to see" French President Emmanuel Macron allow him to live in France, arguing that "protecting whistleblowers is not a hostile act," according to the report.

Snowden had sought asylum in several other countries and fled to Hong Kong to escape U.S. prosecution for stealing and releasing NSA secrets before settling in Russia under political asylum.

Moscow has extended his asylum to 2020.

Snowden released his memoir this week in France, the U.S. and 18 other countries — and the Justice Department sued him Tuesday for violating non-disclosure agreements in publishing the book without giving the government the opportunity to review it first.