He was in command of the French fleet during the Glorious First of June, where despite being handed a heavy tactical defeat, he ensured the passage of a vital grain convoy to France.

After the Coup of 18 Fructidor, Villaret was to be deported to Cayenne but went into hiding long enough for his sentence to be commuted to exile to Oléron, where he went willingly.

Reinstated in 1801, Villaret took command of the naval component of the Saint-Domingue expedition, and was appointed captain general of Martinique and Sainte-Lucie alongside the colonial prefect, Charles-Henri Bertin.

[5] He ordered him to sail to Madras and warn the French blockading squadron, composed of two ships of the line and two frigates, of the imminent arrival of a superior British force.

[4] Three days after her departure, on 11 April 1783, Naïade spotted the 64-gun HMS Sceptre,[2] under Captain Graves;[6] after trying without success to elude his much stronger opponent, Villaret was forced into battle, and struck his colours after a five-hour fight.

[4][6] When Villaret surrendered his sword, Graves allegedly told him "Sir, you have given us a fairly beautiful frigate, but you made us pay dearly for her!

[2] Arriving shortly before the slave revolt that launched the Haitian Revolution,[2][8] he helped the governor transport troops around the island.

Promoted to Captain in 1792, he was given the command of the 74-gun Trajan in 1793;[2][8] in May 1793, part of a squadron under Morard de Galle, he was tasked with watching the coasts of Morbihan and Loire,[2] to prevent the British from aiding the Revolt in the Vendée.

In the summer of 1794, Villaret sailed with 23 ships of the line and 16 frigates to protect a 170-ship food convoy under Rear-admiral Vanstabel, incoming from the United States.

[9] On 28 May, the French and British fleets came in contact 100 leagues off Ushant, and began seeking each other in the fog;[10] the engagement culminated in the Glorious First of June.

In December, the Committee of Public Safety ordered him to attack British commerce in the Croisière du Grand Hiver.

In 1796, Villaret-Joyeuse was appointed to command the fleet for the Expédition d'Irlande, an attempt to land General Hoche's army in Ireland;[2] opposed to the project, Villaret was replaced with Morard de Galle.

[2] As a member of the Club de Clichy,[2] then considered to constitute the Royalist party,[12] he gave several speeches about the colonies, speaking against the emancipation of slaves.

Initially, Napoleon wanted Villaret-Joyeuse to prepare an expedition to capture the Cape of Good Hope, then head into the Indian Ocean.

In December 1801, Villaret set out with ten French and five Spanish ships and nine frigates and corvettes,[12] with his flag on the 120-gun Océan,[13] ferrying 7000 of General Leclerc's expeditionary forces to Saint Domingue.

[2] Taking control of Martinique in September in accordance with the Treaty of Amiens,[14] he faced the threats of slave-uprisings, yellow fever and the possibility of invasion.

[2][13] Upon his return to France, Villaret's conduct was condemned by an inquiry council; he requested in vain a Court-martial to clear his name, and he lived in disgrace for two years.