Journal

France is a nation in political and cultural disarray - with one scandal following the next: the World Cup disaster, nepotism, corruption, and revelations about the President's alleged ties to the super rich. For French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the burgeoning scandal concerning donations to his conservative UMP party has the potential to become a political earthquake. Did his Labor Minister accept wads of cash from the L'Óreal clan in order to finance his 2007 presidential campaign? Who is paying - and is the Fifth Republic what's being bought? Voters are watching and judging their political elite as corrupt to the core - as the Grande Nation experiences a very French affair.