Seven senior editorial executives at Le Monde have resigned en masse from the French daily following a conflict with management.
"A lack of confidence in, and communication with, editorial management prevents us from fulfilling our roles as chief editors," they wrote in an internal letter. "We have realised that we are no longer able to assume the tasks entrusted to us, and that's why we are resigning from our respective posts."
The letter's seven signatories are François Bougon, Vincent Fagot, Julien Laroche-Joubert, Damien Leloup, Cécile Prieur, Françoise Tovo and Nabil Wakim.
A source cited by AFP was critical of management, saying: "They don't work collectively. We never know what is going on. After a year-and-a-half, it's not working out."
The editors' complaints centre on Natalie Nougayrede, Le Monde's managing editor, who was appointed in March last year, becoming the first woman to take the post.
Le Monde has been dogged by crises in recent years. The latest dramas began in February when management announced plans to combine the paper's print and web staff. Then reporters complained that the paper's digital strategy lacked direction.
The online development is also believed to be behind the new revolt. According to the seven who have quit, they remain available to help out until replacements are appointed in order to avoid damaging the newspaper.
Le Monde, a centre-left daily founded in 1944, is France's newspaper of record and recently played a prominent role in covering the surveillance revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Sources: AFP/The Local/Prensa Latina/Columbia Journalism Review
