The 2009 flu pandemic, involving an outbreak of a new strain of influenza commonly known as swine flu (usually referred as grippe A or grippe porcine in French), reached France in early May 2009.
In order to respond to flu epidemics in France, the government has a "national plan",[1] which is also applied for this flu pandemic. In this plan, the different phases of the flu, which are slightly different from the World Health Organization phases, are detailed.