Ingrid Betancourt (Nov 2007 file photo)

France says it hopes to send a humanitarian mission to Colombia as soon as possible to treat ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who is being held by Colombia's main rebel group.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the team will include a doctor and special envoys.

Betancourt has been a hostage since 2002. She is believed to be ill with hepatitis B and a skin condition caused by insect bites. Her son, Lorenzo Delloye, says she needs a blood transfusion.

It is not clear if the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has agreed to give the French mission access to Betancourt.

On Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a televised appeal for the FARC to free Betancourt, saying she is in danger of dying.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says once the military knows the coordinates of any meeting between the mission and the rebels, he will suspend military operations in the area.

The FARC is holding at least 700 hostages, including three Americans, in secret jungle camps for ransom or political leverage.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.