European shares Monday consolidated gains made on Friday after debt fears in the eurozone and the US caused turmoil on global markets last week. Paris's Cac and Frankfurt's Dax indexes were up 1 per cent in early afternoon trading, while London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.5 per cent. Asian markets closed higher on better-than-expected Japanese growth figures. Gold also continued its retreat, falling to 1,739 dollar an ounce from last week's record high of 1,793 dollar. Investors are now looking ahead to a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy tomorrow. The two leaders will be discussing longer-term solutions to the eurozone debt crisis, which has threatened to engulf Italy and Spain.