European stocks tumbled Tuesday as Volkswagen's pollution cheating scandal spread worldwide, with London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dropping 2.83 percent to close at 5,935.84 points.

The CAC 40 in Paris fell 3.42 percent to finish at 4,428.51 points and in Frankfurt the DAX 30 sank 3.8 percent to 9,570.66 points.