Fears over reduced editorial independence drove journalists at France's Les Echos newspaper to urge the paper's owner not to sell to a luxury group, reports Reuters.

Rumors have circulated - and become more detailed in their descriptions - that media group Pearson could sell the paper to LVMH, an industrial company that also owns rival paper La Tribune.

The group of journalists took the action because of increased frequency of reports the two companies were discussing a sale. The fear being owned by a company the paper frequently writes about could hamper the editiorial freedom they currently enjoy.

In their letter, the journalists cited other instances at other papers where editorial independence has been hampered by corporate ownership.

The fears over the paper's future come at the same time many in the US are concerned about what a sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch could mean for that paper's editorial future.