French shares drop 1.39 pct on Friday

PARIS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- French shares lost on Friday, with the benchmark Paris CAC 40 down by 1.39 percent, or 71.99 points, to close at 5,095.22 points.

Of the 40 selected large companies, 28 lost in the day.

French-Italian multinational electronics and semiconductor manufacturer STMICROELECTRONICS was down by 3.84 percent, the top loser of the blue chips. French tyre manufacturer Michelin lost 3.21 percent. French international construction material producer Saint-Gobain lost 2.67 percent.

Publicis, the world's third-largest advertising agency rose 0.54 percent. French digital service giant Atos gained 0.50 percent. Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, was up by 0.19 percent. Enditem