Le Petit Journal (pronounced [lə pəti ʒuʁnal]) was a conservative daily Parisian newspaper founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud; published from 1863 to 1944.

Its founder, Millaud, was originally from Bordeaux and had begun as a publisher of financial and legal newsletters.

In 1884, he introduced the Supplément illustré, a weekly Sunday supplement that was the first to feature colour illustrations.

This became so popular that, in 1889, Marinoni developed a colour rotary press that could print 20,000 sheets per hour.

Many of its readers had gone over to Le Petit Parisien because that paper had avoided taking sides in the Dreyfus Affair, whereas Ernest Judet [fr], the Journal's editor, was staunchly Anti-Dreyfus.

It received a monthly grant from the government, and François de La Rocque became chairman of its board of directors, but the paper could not be saved, and the final issue was published in August 1944.

One of the Journal's major innovations, that made a substantial contribution to its popularity, was the publishing of detailed minutes from sensational trials, beginning with the Troppmann Affair in 1869.