Swine flu has reportedly infected more than a million Americans.

In France, swine flu is still treated as an exotic import, a public health problem that possibly can be avoided and that probably lies off in the future.

Most French news coverage concerns school closures. Ten schools have been closed:

  • Three neighboring schools in Paris;
  • Schools in Viry-Châtillon, La Garenne-Colombes, Asnières, Bourg-la-Reine (all Paris suburbs);
  • Two schools in the Morbihan (in Brittany, in the west of France);
  • One school near Toulouse (in southwestern France).

The school year ends next week, so the impact of a school closing is not great. This having been said, I've come across no data or convincing explanation of the efficacy of school closures: as the come after a student has fallen ill with the flu, hasn't there already been an opportunity to infect classmates, friends, and family?

The French Institut de veille sanitaire, which monitors public health, reported 234 confirmed swine flu cases in France. (The total climbs to 239 in you count confirmed cases in French Polynesia (2), Martinique (2), and Saint-Martin (1).) An additional 220 cases are being investigated. No deaths in France have been attributed to swine flu.

I suspect that the market in France anticipates public health news. At a supermarket near my Paris apartment, adjacent to tissues were a large supply of surgical masks, sold in boxes of 100 masks each.