Intended to serve overseas in the French colonial empire, the ship was ordered during a period of internal conflict between proponents of different types of cruisers.

She was given a high top speed to enable her to operate as a commerce raider, but the required hull shape made her maneuver poorly.

Jurien de la Gravière had been transferred to the Reserve Division of the Mediterranean Squadron by 1911, though she was reactivated in 1913 to serve with the main French fleet.

She remained on active service into the start of World War I in August 1914, and after ensuring the safe passage of French Army units from North Africa to France, the fleet entered the Adriatic Sea to engage the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

This resulted in the Battle of Antivari, where Jurien de la Gravière was detached to pursue the fleeing torpedo boat SMS Ulan, though she failed to catch her.

In the mid-1880s, elements in the French naval command argued over future warship construction; the Jeune École advocated building long-range and fast protected cruisers for use as commerce raiders on foreign stations while a traditionalist faction preferred larger armored cruisers and small fleet scouts, both of which were to operate as part of the main fleet in home waters.

[1] Political conflicts over cruiser construction continued over the next three years, and the French Chamber of Deputies rejected a request to build a sister ship to D'Entrecasteaux in 1895.

In early 1896, during work to set out the 1897 naval budget, Lockroy requested a pair of fast, first-class cruisers suitable for overseas service.

Her length allowed the designers to incorporate very fine lines for greater hydrodynamic efficiency, but rendered her significantly less maneuverable compared to foreign contemporaries like the British cruiser HMS Hyacinth.

The hull was sheathed in wood and a layer of copper plating to protect it from biofouling on lengthy cruises overseas, where shipyard facilities would be limited.

She carried a pair of 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes; according to Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, and the historian Stephen Roberts, these were submerged in the hull.

An anti-splinter deck that was 25 mm (0.98 in) thick formed the roof of the cofferdam, and the entire structure was intended to contain flooding in the event of damage.

[4] At this time, the ship was painted the standard color scheme of the French fleet; green below the waterline, a black upper hull, and buff superstructure.

[15] Upon entering service in 1903, Jurien de la Gravière was assigned to the Atlantic Naval Division, along with the armored cruiser Dupleix.

[20] While visiting the United States on 10 July 1906, Jurien de la Gravière collided with the American 130-gross register ton schooner Eaglet in the North River between New York City and New Jersey.

[21] Jurien de la Gravière remained in service with the Atlantic Naval Division until early 1907; she was placed in reserve at Lorient on 9 March.

[8] In 1908, the French Navy adopted a new paint scheme that retained the green bottom hull, but replaced the above-water colors with a uniform blue-gray.

[15] Jurien de la Gravière remained out of service until 8 March 1911, and in April, she was moved to Toulon,[8] where she joined the Reserve Division of the Mediterranean Fleet.

[8] In May 1913, Jurien de la Gravière was mobilized to join the active component of the Mediterranean Fleet, serving in the role of répétiteur (signal relay ship).

[8] She sailed on 20 October in company with the battleships of the 1st Squadron and six torpedo boats to make a show of force during a period of tension between Italy and the Ottoman Empire.

After a week visiting other Greek ports, the French vessels stopped in Porto-Vecchio in Corsica before rejoining the rest of the Mediterranean Fleet at Porquerolles.

In the ensuing Battle of Antivari, Boué de Lapeyrère initially ordered his battleships to fire warning shots, but this caused confusion among the fleet's gunners that allowed Ulan to escape.

The slower Zenta attempted to evade the French battleships, but she quickly received several hits that disabled her engines and set her on fire.

[29] Jurien de la Gravière continued to operate with the main fleet after it enacted a blockade of the southern end of the Adriatic.

The fleet continued these operations in October and November, including a sweep off the coast of Montenegro to cover a group of merchant vessels replenishing their coal there.

[30][31] The patrols continued through late December, when an Austro-Hungarian U-boat torpedoed Jean Bart, leading to the decision by the French naval command to withdraw the main battle fleet from direct operations in the Adriatic.

[30] The Greek government had remained neutral thus far in the conflict, since Constantine I's wife Sophie was the sister of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The French and British were growing increasingly frustrated by Constantine's refusal to enter the war, and sent the significant elements of the Mediterranean Fleet to try to influence events in the country.

Several French ships sent men ashore in Athens on 1 December to support the coup, but they were quickly defeated by the royalist Greek Army.

In late October, members of the Central Powers began signing armistices with the British and French, signaling the end of the war.