French stocks declined on Thursday as uncertainty over Fed rate cuts deepened and Israel forces pushed ahead with attacks on Rafah.
Traders also awaited the outcome of a Bank of England policy meeting later in the day for further direction.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 12 points, or 0.2 percent, at 8,119 after climbing 0.7 percent the previous day.
Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale were seeing modest gains while automaker Renault advanced 1.5 percent.
China-related luxury goods makers traded lower despite positive April trade data from the country.
Chinese imports surged past estimates while exports rose in line with expectations, data released earlier today showed.
LVMH, Kering and Hermes all were down around 1 percent.