Ingrid Betancourt, 46, has Colombian and French nationality but her Farc rebel captors have refused to allow the mission to see her or to let her go, saying they had had no advance notification.
Ingrid Betancourt is said to suffer serious liver disease and to be looking very frail and ill and so it is a matter of urgency to get her released.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France would now look into other ways of helping Ingrid Betancourt and that they were determined to gain her freedom.
After a cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said: "The Farc have refused, so the plane is coming back. What matters is that we will continue in one form or another. We have to find her."
