In a television address subtitled in Spanish, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appealed to Manuel Marulanda, the leader of Colombia's FARC rebels, to release the Colombian-French hostage Ingrid Betancourt.

"Ingrid is in danger of imminent death," he said in the latest in a series of French initiatives to secure the release of the former candidate to the Colombian presidential election.

"She no longer has the strength to resist an interminable captivity that is turning into tragedy," said Sarkozy.

France to send a humanitarian mission to FARC territory

The Elysée confirmed that the French President has decided to send a humanitarian mission to make contact with the FARC.

Interviewed on France 24, Fabrice Delloye, Betancourt’s former husband, praised his statement as a strong one.

“He’s telling the FARC, ‘you have to release Ingrid’,” Delloye said “’If you don’t, you are responsible in front of the entire international community and you are not going to have any consideration for a place in history or in Colombian politics.”

Meanwhile, Sarkozy’s Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe has agreed to suspend military operations in southeastern Colombia to allow the deployment of a medical mission to treat Betancourt.

The mission will be accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Uribe told reporters after speaking to Sarkozy by telephone.

A new sense of urgency

Speaking from Bogota, Stephen Ambrus, France 24 correspondent in Colombia, warned that “this could be a huge step forward if the FARC agreed and that’s still a huge if.”

As France 24 international news editor Armen Georgian pointed, this is not the first time that the French president appeals directly to the FARC but it shows a new sense of urgency.

The forty-six-year-old Betancourt is said to be gravely ill after six years in captivity in the Colombian jungle. She’s reportedly been on a hunger strike since February 23 and is said to be suffering from hepatitis B and from a skin condition.

“Diplomatically, France has a potentially big role to play,” says Georgian. “International mediation efforts have slowed down after Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, was sacked by the Colombian authorities.”

Aside from Betancourt, the FARC is believed to be holding more than 700 people hostage in the jungles of Colombia, including three US defence contractors.