They were ordered in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, and were intended for use against commerce raiders, which necessitated a high top speed, heavy armament, and long cruising radius.

Their large crews also increased the cost of operating the vessels, and all of these problems led to short service lives.

France's construction program was delayed by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, but the navy quickly began preparations for the 1872 fiscal year.

Furthermore, the ship would require a relatively heavy armament to be able to defeat an enemy cruiser, and a large gun must be placed forward so that it could fire warning shots to compel a hostile merchant vessel to stop.

[3] In service, the ships proved to be disappointments, as they were expensive to operate owing to their great size, though they compared well to their foreign contemporaries.

Their hulls were sheathed with wood to protect them from marine biofouling on long voyages overseas, and they were divided into nine watertight compartments, along with a double bottom.

[5][7] The ships' propulsion system consisted of a pair of compound steam engines driving a screw propeller.

Steam was provided by twelve rectangular, coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into a pair of funnels placed amidships.

Six 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon provided close-range defense against torpedo boats for Duquesne, while Tourville received only four of these guns.

She was recommissioned in 1883 for a short deployment to East Asia,[8] but her deep draft and the cost of operating her there led to her replacement by other cruisers.