French stocks crept higher in cautious trade on Thursday ahead of a long Easter holiday weekend.
Major European markets will be shut for two days on Friday and Monday to celebrate Easter.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 21 points, or 0.3 percent, at 8,226 after gaining 0.3 percent the previous day.
A decline in the euro to parity with the dollar beckoned ahead of critical U.S. inflation data release and Fed Chair Jerome Powell\'s speech on Friday.
Renault rose about 1 percent. Following a share buyback program announced by Nissan on March 27, Renault Group sold 99.13 million shares back to Nissan, or about 2.5 percent of Nissan\'s capital amounting to 358 million euros.
Casino shares plummeted 63 percent as the retailer announced the effective completion of its financial restructuring.