North America's largest French Language newspaper, Canada's La Presse, may be close if its publisher cannot make significant cost cuts, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Caroline Jamet, vice president of communications for the paper, said the newspaper's management and its union have been given a December 1 deadline to reach agreement on concessions, otherwise the newspaper will be forced to shut.

"We've developed a strategy to permit La Presse to migrate towards a new model and have agreements in place with financial institutions for new financing," Jamet said. "All that's left is the part of the employees, it's the only part left to complete the equation."

Jamet said the newspaper was currently running at an unsustainable loss but hoped an agreement could be reached with the newspapers 700 employees that will keep the paper publishing.

Proposed concessions include the end of a four day work week and the loss of around 100 jobs.

In cost cuts earlier this year, La Presse cancelled its Sunday edition. In the move publisher Guy Crevier said he hoped to reduce cost's by C$26 million with C$11 million coming from the newspaper's unions.

La Presse is the flagship newspaper of media conglomerate, Gesca Ltee, a division of Power Corp. of Canada, focused on publishing across a number of mediums.