The ships were designed for service in the French colonial empire, and they carried a relatively heavy battery of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns, and could steam at a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).

The four ships of the Villars class were ordered under the auspices of the naval plan of 1872, which was laid out to modernize the French Navy in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.

The navy sought new unprotected cruisers that carried a heavier armament than earlier vessels, while maintaining a similar size to keep costs from increasing during a period of limited naval budgets.

[4] She lay out of service until 3 October 1881, when she was placed back in commission for a deployment to the Indian Ocean, where she was to replace La Clocheterie.

[4] In 1882, the French government decided to seize Madagascar as a colony, and the navy sent the cruiser Beautemps-Beaupré with Admiral Pierre to lead an expedition to invade the island.

By April 1883, Pierre had organized a squadron that included Forfait, Beautemps-Beaupré, and the cruisers Flore and Vaudreuil, the aviso Boursaint, and the gunboat Picque.

On 7 May, Piere sent Forfait to Tamatave while he took the rest of his squadron to the Ampasindava Peninsula, where he started the First Madagascar expedition by bombarding government positions there.

[5] On 11 June, Pierre sent ashore a landing party of 600 men drawn from his ships, which covered their seizure of the coastal fort at Tamatave.

The men ashore fortified their positions with guns taken from the ships as Merina forces gathered to evict them, though neither side had sufficient strength to launch a major offensive.

In August, France dispatched a force of 700 men aboard the transport Creuse, accompanied by the cruiser Naïade to strengthen the garrison at Tamatave.

On 16 November, Forfait and Picque were at Mahajanga, where they blocked an attempt by Merina forces to seize the queen of the Sakalava.

The ships enacted a limited blockade of the eastern coast of the island, including the ports of Mahanoro and Fenoarivo Atsinanana.

[7] By 1886, the French squadron operating off Madagascar also included the cruisers Naïade, Lapérouse, and Limier, the gunboats Picque, Chacal, and Capricorne, and the aviso Labourdonnais.

[9] In 1891, Forfait was stationed at Brest, along with the cruisers Nielly and Éclaireur and the coastal defense ships Fulminant and Tempête.