After the sinking of Scipion on 20 October, Maistral returned to France in April 1782 on Fantasque, arriving in July.

On 22 July 1783, Maistral was promoted to lieutenant de frégate entretenu, and appointed to the fluyt Étoile.

On 21 March, he was promoted to Commodor (Chef de division) and took command of the 110-gun Terrible from 27 April to 11 November.

On 9 March 1798, Maistral took command of Mont Blanc, on which he took part in Bruix' expedition of 1799; on 5 March 1800, he was replaced by his brother, Captain Désiré Marie Maistral, to temporally captain the 80-gun Formidable, flagship of contre-amiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, until 26 April, when he returned to the command of Mont Blanc,[2] keeping her until 24 January 1801.

On 23 September 1800, the rank of commodore was suppressed in the French Navy, and Maistral was retrograded to captain.

At the Battle of Trafalgar, Neptune came immediately after the flagship Bucentaure, but was separated from her lead, opening a weakness that allowed HMS Victory to rake the French flagship and cut the French line, despite the efforts of Redoutable to fill the gap.

In The Commodore, Patrick O'Brian names the head of the French squadron coming to West Cork for a rematch of the Expédition d'Irlande as Esprit-Tranquille Maistral.

Again, the French lose, though coming much closer to success, and Maistral surrenders to Aubrey, and then is taken aboard HMS Bellona.