Le Petit Provencal
Poster for Le Petit Provençal
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1880 |
| Language | French |
| Ceased publication | 1944 |
| Headquarters | Marseille, France |
| City | Marseille |
| Country | France |
| ISSN | 1257-5984 |
Le Petit Provençal (The Little Provincial) was a French provincial daily newspaper founded in Marseille in 1880. It took a Left Republican position, although it was never an official socialist organ. In the years before World War I (1914–18) many prominent politicians contributed to the paper. The paper opposed the pact between Germany and Russia just before World War II (1939–45), and after the fall of France opposed the Vichy regime. However, it managed to continue publication until 1944.
Le Petit Provençal was founded in Marseille in 1880, and distributed in south eastern France. It was originally titled La Jeune république (The Young Republic). The founder was Geoffroy Velten (1831–1915), also called Godfried Velten, a Protestant entrepreneur and militant Republican who became a Municipal Councillor in Marseilles in 1880, and on 25 January 1883 was made Senator for Bouches-du-Rhône. Velten also founded L'Égalité. The paper competed with others such as Le Petit Marseillais, Le Radical and Le Soleil du Midi. At first the newspaper published opinions and polemics, but later it became a source of news and information. Thus, during the campaign in Madagascar, from September 1894 to December 1896 Le Petit Provençal devoted 95 editorials or feature articles on the front page to colonial issues.
Le Petit Provençal paper called itself a Socialist Republican newspaper, but was never the official organ of the socialists. Between 1890 and 1900 it supported socialist candidates of all camps, including Guesdists. Regular contributors included Alexandre Millerand, René Viviani, Gustave Rouanet, Clovis Hugues and Léon Mirman.André Joseph Lefèvre wrote for Le Petit Provençal in the period before World War I (1914–18). During the period leading up to 1914 the paper emphasized that it supported both radicals and socialists. The circulation was 40,000–50,000 in 1902. While papers at the time usually gave false circulation figures Le Petit Provençal by 1913 probably had a daily circulation of about 100,000. Advertising only filled 20% or so of the pages.
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