Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.

During the Cold War, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean in search of Soviet Navy submarines.

[3] Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.).

The Exocet missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns which are more suited to their new missions.

She is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2027 and be replaced by one of a new class of ocean-going Patrol Vessels (the Patrouilleurs Hauturiers).