Paris  - French shares were down in late Thursday trading in the wake of overnight losses on Wall Street and Asian markets.

By mid-afternoon, the Paris Bourse's CAC 40 index had given up 1.49 per cent, falling to 3,240.07, with losers outpacing gainers by about 5 to 1.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement, earlier Thursday, that the government would establish a fund to support struggling strategic companies appeared to have had little effect on share prices.

Transportation shares were hardest-hit, with transport equipment manufacturer Alstom losing 10.05 per cent, to 34.72 euros.

French-Dutch airline Air France-KLM was off by 9.55 per cent, to 12.31 euros, following media reports that company head Jean-Cyril Spinetta had announced that the carrier would make no money for the next three years. (dpa)