French paper in last-ditch rescue

Liberation faces losses of several million euros

Further talks are to take place in an effort to save one of France's best-known newspapers, the irreverent left-wing daily Liberation.

Staff fear the biggest shareholder, of the Rothschild family, plans to make job cuts and a reduction in content.

The board, which includes Edouard de Rothschild and staff representatives, met on Wednesday, but few details of the talks have emerged.

Liberation has been battling failing sales and was rescued two years ago.

Mr de Rothschild, who bought a stake in the paper last year and has overseen the recent restructuring drive, said Wednesday's offer being put to the board was its "last chance".

Late on Wednesday, a statement on the newspaper's website said members of the board reached a "consensus on the avenues to explore to guarantee the survival of the newspaper".

LIBERATION Based: Paris Founded: 1973 Circulation: 135,600 (2005) Owner: 38.8% of shares in the paper are owned by Edouard de Rothschild. A staff consortium holds a 18% stake, and the remaining shares are owned by Pathe, the investment group 3i and friends of the paper

They were to meet again on Thursday, and the entire staff will also hold a general assembly to hear the result of the board meetings.

Mr de Rothschild "wants the Liberation team to mobilise around a project... with a new formula," adapting itself to the new realities of today's multimedia world, his spokeswoman told the Associated Press news agency.

The board also decided on Wednesday to continue the co-management of the paper between Mr de Rothschild and the staff for an undetermined time - an arrangement set up after the forced departure of founder and director Serge July earlier this year.

This prompted an angry walkout by four of the paper's top journalists, including Florence Aubenas who was held hostage for five months in Iraq.

Iconic paper

Liberation was founded in the aftermath of the 1968 student riots in Paris and launched in 1973 by philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre and a group of left-wing intellectuals.

The fall in advertising revenues, the rise of free dailies and the internet have all contributed to the daily's difficulties.

Mr de Rothschild invested 20m euros (£13.5m) in the paper and later dismissed some 56 employees in a drive to reduce costs.

It has also revamped its website - one of France's most visited.

But despite the changes, the newspaper still raked up losses estimated at 6m euros for the first half of 2006.