Shortly after completion she was modified and became a gunnery training ship, replacing the elderly armored cruiser Gueydon.

Shortly before the beginning of World War II, she reverted to her original role and most of the gunnery training equipment was removed.

The Marine Nationale decided to build a fast minelayer as part of its 1925 Naval Programme after the British HMS Adventure made her debut in the early 1920s.

The sides of the mine deck were normally open to the weather, but metal panels could be used to close it off when carrying troops.

Duralumin was extensively used in the superstructure to save weight, but this resulted in corrosion problems and strength issues.

Her turning circle was 875 m (957 yd) with 25° of rudder at 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph), larger than that of the 8,000 t (7,900 long tons) light cruiser Duguay-Trouin which was 30 m (98 ft 5 in) longer.

[3] An auxiliary boiler was fitted to heat or cool the ship's magazines and provide drinking water.

[4] 1,150 t (1,130 long tons) of fuel oil was carried which was originally calculated to provide an endurance of 7,770 nautical miles (14,390 km; 8,940 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), but it was revised downwards to 4,510 nmi (8,350 km; 5,190 mi) once she entered service because the demands of her auxiliary machinery had been seriously underestimated.

Two 100-kilowatt (130 hp) diesel generators were mounted in the aft engine room to provide power while in harbor and a third was installed in a special compartment on the first deck for emergency use.

Two mounts were on top of the bridge, two atop the after boiler room ventilator housing and two just forward of the tripod mainmast.

[9] Pluton was designed to carry 220 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) Sautter-Harlé mines, but had space for 30 extra, for a total of 250.

The rails ended in four ramps at the stern of the ship that sloped down at a 30° angle to minimize the shock of impact when the mines were released from the chain drive.

Shortly after she was commissioned the Navy decided to give her an extra role as a gunnery training ship and she entered Toulon Dockyard for the necessary modifications on 24 October 1932.

These included reinforcement of her superstructure where it had been damaged by the muzzle blast from her 138 mm guns and replacement of her corroded aluminum ladders and booms with steel ones.

[16] She would have been renamed La Tour d'Auvergne at that time, as the name Pluton was reserved for mine warfare ships in the French Navy.

[16] Three trawlers (Etoile du Matin, Marie Merveilleuse, and Sultan) were sunk by the explosion, and the auxiliary minesweepers Charcot, Gosse, and Chellah damaged beyond repair.