by Tatiana Repkova

The immediate future of Le Monde, the influential but loss-making French newspaper, has been plunged into uncertainty after its journalists voted to oust Jean-Marie Colombani, its editorial figurehead and the chief executive of its parent company. Colombani, a leading figure in French public life during his 13 years in charge of the title, needed the backing of his reporters and editors in order to secure a third mandate that would keep him in the post for the next six years.