French shares edged up on Wednesday, with the benchmark Paris CAC 40 up 1.59 percent, or 81.53 points, to close at 5,222.13 points.

Thirty-nine of the 40 selected large companies gained in the day. French car supplier group Valeo and French pharmacial group Sanofi both advanced 3.12 percent, the top gainers of the blue chips. French concessions and construction company Vinci 2.60 percent.

French oil and gas firm Technipfmc went down by 0.06 percent, the only loser in the day.