Duquesne was the first of two cruisers built for the French Navy. During the interwar period she served in the Mediterranean while taking periodic cruises to show the Flag. During the war she was on blockade duty in the mid Atlantic then the Mediterranean. She was interned for three years at Alexandria, rejoining the war effort in 1943. Again assigned to blockade duty in the Mid Atlantic at Dakar. Post war she aided in the restoration of French Colonial rule in French Indochina until placed in reserve in 1947. She remained in reserve until condemned for disposal in 1955. She was named to honour Abraham Duquesne, Marquis du Bouchet ( – 1688) who distinguished himself during the Third Dutch War. She was the seventh ship to bear this name since introduced in 1787 for a 74-gun ship captured by the British on 25 July 1803. Design and description Under the 1924 program two 10,000 ton Treaty Cruisers were authorized, becoming the . The contract for one new vessel was awarded to the Arsenal de Brest with the order being placed on 1 July 1924. The hull featured a high freeboard with the raised forecastle that would be carried on for all post-war cruisers with excellent sea keeping qualities. The hull design had fine lines for the speed requirement complemented by the clipper bow with a gentle sheer and the marked flare keeping the forecastle dry even in heavy weather. She was laid down with her hull designated as number 44 on 30 October 1924 at Brest. She was launched on 17 December 1925. She continued to fit out until ready for her contractor trials on 1 August 1927. With acceptance from the contractors she underwent acceptance trials on 15 November. She was commissioned on 1 May 1928. On July 3, 1928 she partook in a Naval Review at Le Harve being one of four cruisers present. She was finally completed on 6 December 1928. Initially classed as a Light Cruiser she was reclassified on 1 July 1931 as a croiseur de 1ere classe (First class cruiser). The Marine Nationale did not have a vessel classification of heavy cruiser instead used croiseur cuirasse (armoured cruiser) and croiseurs legers (light cruiser) prior to the London Naval Treaty then croiseur de 1ere classe (First class cruiser) and croiseur de 2e classe (Second class cruiser) afterwards. Service history Pre-war service She entered service on