Bélier was a Arquebuse-class destroyer contre-torpilleur d'escadre built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

They carried enough coal to give them a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

They were fitted with two single rotating mounts for 381-millimeter (15 in) torpedo tubes on the centerline, one between the funnels and the other on the stern.

[1] Bélier (Battering ram) was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire on 22 May 1901 and the ship was laid down in September at its shipyard in Nantes.

[5] When the First World War began in August 1914, Bélier was assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla (3e escadrille de torpilleurs) of the 2nd Light Squadron (2e escadre légère)[6] based at Cherbourg.