European shares were subdued in early trading on Monday as investors assessed a fresh round of corporate earnings amid political turmoil in France, while declining oil prices offered some relief on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 636.26 points by 0809 GMT, after recording its steepest weekly decline since early September on Friday.Read more: Global Market: China's yuan hits four-year high as dollar weakens ahead of policy meetingsOil prices retreated after climbing to near six-month highs last week, as hopes of easing tensions between the United States and Iran improved investor sentiment.