France will ask the European Union on Thursday to suspend all flights going to Mexico because of the outbreak of swine flu, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Wednesday. She said the request would be made at a meeting of the 27 European Union health ministers, due to be held in Luxembourg. She also said France was asking for a meeting of EU transport ministers where the proposal could also be discussed.

“During these two meetings we will ask our European colleagues to consider the suspension of flights going to Mexico,” she said after a meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the flu outbreak.

She said suspending return flights could be counterproductive because it would force passengers to seek other ways of leaving the country and make it more difficult to trace travellers’ journeys.

Asked about Thursday’s meeting of health ministers in Luxembourg, a European Union spokeswoman said: “Tomorrow they will discuss preventive measures and that might perhaps also cover travel advice.”

The new H1N1 virus has been confirmed around the world and the epicentre of the outbreak is in Mexico.

France has 20 suspected cases, of which two are considered probable. The pair, who had returned from a trip to Mexico, is in hospital in Paris.

Bachelot said France had moved up from a level three to a level four health alert.

PARIS (Reuters)