Paris - Following big losses on Wall Street and Asian markets, French shares plummeted in early trading on Friday, with the benchmark CAC 40 tumbling more than 10 per cent before recovering slightly.
After one hour of trading, the index had given up 7.68 per cent, to 3,178.42, with all 40 listed shares in the minus column.
According to Benoit Debroissia, market analyst at Richelieu Finance in Paris, "We are going through a systemic shock in which risk propagates itself through the entire financial system like a virus."