First newspaper to reach 1 million in circulation
In 1863, Le Petit Journal (the little journal) first appeared in print in Paris. It rose to prominence as France's largest daily newspaper two years later. Early on, its publishers made the decision to shun politics, at least publicly, in order to steer clear of controversy (and French prisons). The newspaper avoided paying the tax other French newspapers were required to pay in order to enjoy the privilege by refraining from making political pronouncements.
This made it possible for it to be sold for around half as much as other French newspapers. Its weekly circulation grew to 1 million copies by 1886. The "little newspaper" had the biggest circulation in the world by 1895 because of its weekly illustrated supplement, which had a circulation of over 2 million.
The publication suffered from the whims of politics in early 20th-century France, and despite its dive into sensationalism, particularly its graphic coverage of criminal cases, popularity rapidly decreased. The newspaper relocated to Clermont-Ferrand in 1940 and stayed there during the Vichy.
Government until it ceased publication in August 1944. Its daily circulation in France had fallen below 100,000 by that point. It was a far cry from the 5 million readers the Journal boasted in the Illustrated Supplement of a year earlier, in 1899.
