Staff at Le Monde, France’s most authoritative newspaper, went on strike against their management yesterday for the first time in the paper’s 64-year history over plans to cut the number of journalists by a quarter.

The scheme for 130 redundancies, two thirds of them journalists, is an attempt to staunch losses and stave off a takeover after years of turmoil at the house organ of the French thinking Establishment.

Le Monde’s fiercely loyal staff, who still ultimately control the newspaper, have only once before stopped work. In 1976 they took part in a vain 24-hour protest against the takeover of France Soir, a respected popular daily, by an industrial group.

As staff marched in protest yesterday, Eric Fottorino, who was elected director in December after boardroom mutinies, said that he would not abandon his plan. “I understand the emotion of the staff and I share it to a certain extent,” he said. “At the same time I am very determined to see it through because the independence of Le Monde depends on its success.”

Le Monde continues with its leisurely publishing tradition, appearing in Paris at lunchtime but circulating the following day in the provinces. Over the past decade it has loosened its austere style and introduced limited photographs, lighter subjects and a thriving internet site. It remains the lofty voice of the leftish governing class but it has suffered the same decline as most of the French daily press. It lost €15 million (£12 million) in 2007, has not made a profit in seven years and has debts of €150 million.

The unions asked the governing board to rethink what they called a brutal rescue plan. This includes the first compulsory redundancies since General de Gaulle launched the newspaper in 1944 after closing most old titles for collaborating with the Nazis. “Le Monde obviously has problems but we do not think that the situation will improve if you get rid of the grey matter,” Dominique Candille, leader of the CGT journalists’ union, said.

Staff are eager to head off a bid for control by two of its big minority shareholders, the Lagardère media and aerospace group and Prisa, the Spanish media group.

“If we lose our economic independence, we lose editorial independence,” said Beatrice Gurrey, chairwoman of the staff association that holds a controlling share of the parent company. The last board was ousted after it promoted the Lagardère and Prisa plan.

Guardians of French media independence are worried by the way that many big titles are now controlled by industrial groups that are not primarily media companies. Le Figaro, the conservative daily, is held by Dassault, the aerospace defence group.

Lagardère, which owns Paris Match and other big titles, has big aerospace and defence interests. Edward de Rothschild, the billionaire financier, is now the biggest shareholder of Libération, the impertinent left-wing daily that used to pride itself on its independence like Le Monde. LVMH, the biggest luxury goods group, has just bought Les Echos, the financial daily, from Britain’s Pearson group.

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