The Forbin-class cruisers were built as part of a construction program intended to provide scouts for the main battle fleet.

They were based on the earlier unprotected cruiser Milan, with the addition of an armor deck to improve their usefulness in battle.

She saw no further active service, and she was struck from the naval register in 1905, briefly used as a munitions storage hulk, before being broken up in 1906.

Beginning in 1879, the French Navy's Conseil des Travaux (Council of Works) had requested designs for small but fast cruisers of about 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) displacement that could be used as scouts for the main battle fleet.

[1][2] The three Forbins, along with the three very similar Troude-class cruisers, were ordered by Admiral Théophile Aube, then the French Minister of Marine and an ardent supporter of the Jeune École doctrine.

The armament changes were carried out for Coëtlogon between September 1889 and February 1890, before she began her initial testing, but the rigging was not altered until October 1892, when her propulsion system was being replaced.

Work began on Coëtlogon with her keel laying at the Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët shipyard on four days later.

[9] Trials conducted in March 1894 had to be stopped due to excessive friction in the engines, which caused so much vibration in the hull that the ship's compasses were not usable.

She ran acceptable trials in June, where she reached a top speed of 20.4 knots (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) using forced draft, though was not ready for service until August.

The exercises took place in two phases, the first being a simulated amphibious assault in Quiberon Bay, and the second revolving around a blockade of Rochefort and Cherbourg.

[14] She took part in the maneuvers that year, which were conducted from 6 to 26 July in conjunction with the local defense forces of Brest, Rochefort, Cherbourg, and Lorient.