French stocks rose on Thursday, with the benchmark Paris CAC40 index up 0.42 percent, or 21.03 points, to close at 4,981.51 points.

Twenty-five of the 40 blue-chips rose in the day.

Vivendi, a French multinational mass media firm, advanced 3.09 percent, becoming the top bluechip winner.

French bank Credit Agricole rose 2.74 percent. Another bank BNP Parisbas gained 2.43 percent.

Multinational retailer Carrefour lost 4.03 percent. Gas firm Technipfmc went down 2.23 percent. Tire manufacturer Michelin shedded 1.5 percent.