French shares closed almost flat on Monday, with the benchmark Paris CAC 40 up 0.09 percent, or 4.45 points, to close at 5,207.89 points.

18 of the 40 selected large companies gained in the day. Steel giant ARCELORMITTAL soared 4.67 percent, becoming the biggest bluechip winner.

CREDIT AGRICOLE, French banking company, advanced 1.87 percent. SOCIETE GENERALE,another French bank rose by 0.88 percent.

French multinational mass media conglomerate VIVENDI lost 1.36 percent, becoming the biggest loser among the blue chips.

European multinational aeronautical and military corporation AIRBUS GROUP dropped 1.21 percent. CARREFOUR, a French multinational retailer, went down 0.72 percent.