France's donation scandal reverberates throughout Europe

The French party donation scandal has not only caused trouble for Labour Minister Eric Woerth and President Nicolas Sarkozy but will also have far-reaching repercussions for all Europe, writes the daily Latvijas Avīze: "Europe has a rich tradition as far as the disclosure of illegal party funding is concerned. The French scandal wouldn't have triggered such a commotion if it hadn't come at such an inconvenient time: Woerth is responsible for the pension reform and if this fails it means a loss of trust on the international financial markets with unpredictable results for all Europe. For now Sarkozy plans a major government reshuffle in October and no doubt he hopes the uproar will abate during the holiday season. But perhaps the opposite will happen because a majority of citizens are still of the opinion that the political leadership they elect should not be dancing around the golden calf."

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