French newspaper Le Monde is in crisis as staff face the possibility of the newspaper being taken over by Prisa, the owner of Spanish newspaper El Paí­s, and French media giant Lagardère.

Le Monde's chairman and deputy chairman resigned in the midst of a power struggle for control between shareholders and journalists. Staff have a majority stake in the daily.

Prisa currently has a 15 percent stake in Le Monde, while Lagardère has a 17 percent stake. They are planning to invest €75 million into the company, which is in debt and short on cash, but the move would put journalists out of their position as majority stake holders, The Times reported Monday.

Executive Board Chairman Pierre Jeantet, Deputy Chairman Bruno Patino and Editor Eric Fottorino stepped down from their positions in December. Editorial staff are scheduled to meet January 25 to vote on whether Fottorino will become chairman. If they do not endorse him, the courts could appoint an administrator to oversee the newspaper.