Pierre Giffard, editor of Le Petit Journal, conceived the event as a publicity vehicle for his newspaper and a practical showcase for the nascent automobile industry. The contest was promoted under the criterion that eligible vehicles be "not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey," and the main prize went to "the competitor whose car comes closest to the ideal." This wording effectively excluded steam-powered vehicles that required a travelling stoker, a ruling that would shape the final outcome.
Prize money totalling 10,000 gold francs was announced, with 5,000 francs for first place, 2,000 for second, 1,500 for third, 1,000 for fourth, and 500 for fifth. One hundred and two entrants paid the ten-franc entrance fee, representing manufacturers such as Peugeot, Panhard et Levassor, de Dion-Bouton, and Serpollet, alongside amateur owners and inventors proposing vehicles powered by gravity, compressed air, electricity, hydraulics, and other novel means. Seventy-eight of those entrants never appeared for qualifying.
Qualifying took place across four days from 18 to 21 July 1894. Vehicles were divided into groups and sent on interwoven 50 km (31 mi) routes around Paris and its surroundings, passing through locations including Mantes-la-Jolie, Versailles, Rambouillet, Poissy, and Corbeil-Essonnes. Each group was balanced to include both petrol and steam vehicles. To qualify for the main race, a vehicle had to complete the route in under three hours. Journalists reported great crowds and excitement throughout, including a ceremonial finish through a triumphal arch at Précy-sur-Oise. Twenty-one vehicles were ultimately selected to start the main event.
At 8:00 am on Sunday 22 July, the twenty-one qualifiers departed from Porte Maillot. The route passed through Neuilly-sur-Seine, Nanterre, Chatou, Le Pecq, Poissy, Triel-sur-Seine, and Mantes, where drivers stopped for a ninety-minute lunch break, before continuing through Vernon, Gaillon, and Pont-de-l'Arche to the finish at the Champ de Mars in Rouen.
Count Jules-Albert de Dion was the first to arrive in Rouen, completing the course in 6 hours 48 minutes at an average speed of 19 km/h (12 mph). He finished 3 minutes 30 seconds ahead of Albert Lemaître in a Peugeot. Auguste Doriot, also in a Peugeot, finished 16 minutes 30 seconds behind, followed by Hippolyte Panhard and Émile Levassor of Panhard et Levassor.
Despite finishing first, Jules-Albert de Dion was ineligible for the main prize because his steam vehicle required a stoker, violating the "easy to drive" requirement. The fastest petrol-powered car across the line was a 3 hp (2.2 kW) Peugeot driven by Albert Lemaître.
On 24 July, Le Petit Journal announced the prize awards. The premier Prix du Petit Journal of 5,000 francs was shared equally between manufacturers Panhard et Levassor and Les fils de Peugeot frères, whose vehicles were judged "easy to use." The second prize of 2,000 francs went to de Dion, Bouton et Cie for their steam tractor, praised for its power and hill-climbing ability. Third place, worth 1,500 francs, went to Maurice Le Blant for his nine-seat Serpollet-system vehicle. The fourth prize of 1,000 francs was shared between Alfred Vacheron and Le Brun, and fifth place of 500 francs went to Émile Roger in a Benz.
The Paris–Rouen contest demonstrated both the practical potential of the internal combustion engine and the public appetite for competitive motoring. Its format — a timed city-to-city run with qualifying stages and a defined prize structure — directly influenced the major road races of the following decade, including the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris and Paris–Madrid events. The victory of petrol-engined Peugeot and Panhard machines over steam alternatives helped establish the internal combustion engine as the dominant technology for automobile development.