The swine flu epidemic is growing more severe in France, as 16 people died in a one-week period because of the A(H1N1) virus, dpa cited the government"s Health Surveillance Institute (IVS) as saying today. That brings the number of deaths related to swine flu to 48 in France. Three of those fatalities were not connected to aggravating factors, such as chronic respiratory problems. In addition, the illness has forced the closing of a total of 201 schools throughout France, up from only 10 one week earlier, the online edition of the weekly Le Point reported.