Kouchner met with Betancourt's mother before seeing Uribe but gave no statement after their conversation.
"This shows the interest France has in helping us free Ingrid and all the hostages," Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, told reporters.
FAILED FRENCH MISSION
France sent a medical mission this month to treat Betancourt, who fellow hostages say suffers from hepatitis and has been chained up after attempts to flee. But the FARC rejected it because Paris failed to secure a prior agreement.
In March, Colombian troops bombed inside Ecuador, killing Raul Reyes, a top rebel leader who had been engaged in talks with France and with a left-wing Colombian senator close to Chavez over a deal to free hostages.
Rebels say his death has put a halt to any more individual releases like those arranged by Chavez.
A self-styled socialist revolutionary, Chavez is seen by hostages' families and some analysts as key to any hostage negotiations with the Marxist rebels.
But Uribe, popular at home for his tough stance with the FARC, rejects any formal role for Chavez after the Venezuelan leader openly backed more recognition for the rebels. Chavez says he has now lost contact with FARC commanders.
Once a peasant army, the FARC is labelled a drug-trafficking terrorist organization by U.S. and European officials.
Rebels say they want Uribe to demilitarize a New York City-sized area as a safe haven for hostage talks. But Uribe says that would allow the rebels to regroup and he has offered a smaller zone under international observation for talks.
