European press review

Many European newspapers are taking a rest for the May Day holiday, but those that do publish are concerned with contrasting reputations.

Concern is voiced at a potential scandal surrounding France's prime minister, while there are words of praise for a Jewish leader, who died in Germany on Sunday.

There are also plaudits for the four Germans who have made it onto Time magazine's list of the world's most influential personalities.

'Sewers of the state'

France's Le Monde says Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin should either resign or explain himself to judges over the so-called Clearstream affair, which it calls a "scandal of state".

Dominique de Villepin must clear himself as soon as possible of the serious suspicions that have fallen on him Le Monde

According to the paper, a senior intelligence official recently said the prime minister had asked him to look into corruption accusations against Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.

The daily says this statement raises the possibility that Mr De Villepin used a state department "for the purposes of a put-up job or even a settling of political scores".

"If he intends to continue to run the government and to manage France's affairs," it says, "Dominique de Villepin must clear himself as soon as possible of the serious suspicions that have fallen on him."

The paper feels that the "inevitable choice" he now faces is either to agree to be questioned by the judges investigating the case, or to resign.

The affair also attracts attention beyond France's borders.

Spain's El Pais says Mr De Villepin may even regret not standing down earlier, amid the student protests over his controversial youth labour law.

If the prime minister has any chance of getting out of this, he can do so only by taking the bull by the horns El Pais

"What he is up against now looks much worse: a political corruption scandal, a real visit to the sewers of the state," the paper says.

"If the prime minister has any chance of getting out of this, he can do so only by taking the bull by the horns," the paper warns, noting that the opposition socialists are "sharpening their knives" in the National Assembly, where he is due to appear tomorrow.

"To wait for the courts to knock on his door... would be a serious mistake," it concludes.

Switzerland's Le Temps says this "murky affair" is about more than just political rivalry between Messrs De Villepin and Sarkozy.

"The Clearstream scandal lays bare a privatized political class, in which nothing counts more than placing one's friends and keeping one's rivals in check," it says.

'Great democrat'

Germany has reacted to the death of the president of the Central Council of Jews, Paul Spiegel, with deep sadness Der Tagesspiegel

The web editions of many German papers lead on the death of the country's Jewish leader, Paul Spiegel, after a long illness.

"Germany is in mourning", reads a headline in Der Tagesspiegel.

"Germany has reacted to the death of the president of the Central Council of Jews, Paul Spiegel, with deep sadness," the paper says.

It observes that politicians of all major parties, church leaders and representatives of other groups paid tribute to Mr Spiegel as a "great democrat" and as a man who worked for tolerance and against racism and anti-Semitism.

Die Welt says one of Mr Spiegel's "outstanding feats" was the conclusion of an agreement between the government and the Central Council of Jews in 2003.

"For the first time the relationship was given a legal basis," the paper says.

It adds that Mr Spiegel is also credited with having made a success of the integration of tens of thousands of Jews from eastern Europe.

Influential Germans

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung is among German newspapers to highlight the appearance of four of their compatriots on Time magazine's list of this year's 100 most influential people worldwide.

It notes that the magazine singled out Chancellor Angela Merkel for "giving Germans back the ability to laugh" and Pope Benedict XVI for the depth of his pronouncements - despite his lacking his predecessor's charisma.

Football star "Kaiser Franz" Beckenbauer, it adds, is the subject of a eulogy by another prominent German-born personality - former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger - while the quartet is completed by the "walrus-moustached" DaimlerChrysler chief, Dieter Zetsche.

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.