Can I target a specific node type in page.tpl.php I just created a template page--article.tpl.php to apply ton nodes of the [article] type. It works when declared in the template.php file.
My problem is that there is a very slight change compared to the generic page.tpl.php, nothing worth having another file.

I was wondering if I could place the adde part between a condition, just as I could do with if $is_front
Something like:

&lt;?php if ($node-&gt;type == 'article')
  // render my thingees
?&gt;


I would be glad if someone could tell me.

--- Edit, to answer Kiwimind ---  

I did the test with the 'page' content type, so I didn't have to skip my page--article.tpl.php file. I checked that 'page' was the actual machine name and 'nature' is my theme's actual name, it works on other functions.
I wrote in template.php

/**
 * Détection du type de contenu pour affecter le template page
 * https://drupal.stackexchange.com/questions/264550/can-i-target-a-specific-node-type-in-page-tpl-php
 */

function nature_preprocess_page(&amp;$variables, $hook) {
  $variables['is_page'] = false;
  if (isset($variables['node']) &amp;&amp; $variables['node']-&gt;type == 'page') {
    $variables['is_page'] = true;
  }
}


Then in page.tpl.php

&lt;?php if ($is_page) : ?&gt; 
    &lt;h1&gt;This is a “page” content&lt;/h1&gt; 
&lt;?php endif; ?&gt;


Nothing more, nothing less. Do you see any missing (or unnecessary) character, that could trigger a parse error? For I still get a whole blank page when clearing the cache.
As shown on Variable to check if the page is of some other Content Type, you can drop into template.php something like the following:

function THEMENAME_preprocess_page(&amp;$variables, $hook) {
  $variables['print_extra_header'] = false;
  if (isset($variables['node']) &amp;&amp; $variables['node']-&gt;type == 'product') {
    $variables['print_extra_header'] = true;
  }
}


then in your template, add in

&lt;?php if ($print_extra_header) : ?&gt; &lt;h1&gt;THIS GETS PRINTED&lt;/h1&gt; &lt;?php endif; ?&gt;


So effectively you're checking on the node type in a preprocess page, to pass a custom variable to the template for you to act on.