Paris  - A 37-year-old man who recently returned from Mexico will become France's first confirmed case of swine flu, France Info radio reported Friday.

The station cited a doctor at Neckar Hospital in Paris, where the ill person was being treated. The patient was said to be in stable condition and on a respirator.

However, French health authorities have yet to officially confirm the illness.

French officials were examining some 40 people for possible swine flu infection, five of whom were said to be "probably" ill with A(H1N1) influenza, which is currently spreading throughout the world. (dpa)