French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that Paris is increasingly worried about the 250 French nationals who were in areas hit by the tsunami in Asia on December 26 but from whom there were still no news.

"There are 250 persons from whom we have no news... We have more real concerns as time passes," he told French radio station RMC.

Barnier also confirmed that 22 people are confirmed dead and 69others are known to be missing, presumed dead.

Earlier on Monday, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he was afraid that most French people from whom there has been no news since the tsunami are probably dead.

Latest figures from the French government showed that among the22 dead, 19 have been identified, including 17 in Thailand, one in Sri Lanka and one in India.