until 1 December 1892, when she was placed in full commission. Neptune sailed from Brest on 26 December, bound for Toulon on France's Mediterranean coast. When she arrived there on 9 January 1893, she joined the Mediterranean Squadron. At that time, the unit also included both of her sister ships and the ironclads , , , , Hoche, and . She participated in the fleet maneuvers that year as part of the 3rd Division, in company with her sister and Dévastation, the latter serving as the divisional flagship. The maneuvers included an initial period of exercises from 1 to 10 July and then larger-scale maneuvers from 17 to 28 July. During the 1895 maneuvers, which began on 1 July, Neptune and the rest of the Mediterranean Squadron conducted a training cruise and practice shooting while the Reserve Squadron mobilized its ships. The main period of exercises saw the fleet divided into three units and Neptune was assigned to the second unit, tasked with operating with the first unit to attack the defending third fleet in Ajaccio. The maneuvers concluded on 27 July. The following year, the Mediterranean Squadron consisted of Neptune, her two sisters, the two Amiral Baudin-class ships, Courbet, Dévastation, the ironclad and the new pre-dreadnought battleship . That year, she served in the 3rd Division of the squadron. She participated in the fleet maneuvers that lasted from 17 to 30 July, during which Neptune served as part of the simulated enemy fleet. By 1897, additional pre-dreadnoughts began to enter service, including and . They joined Neptune and the other Marceaus, Brennus, Amiral Baudin, and Redoutable in the Mediterranean Squadron. During the 1897 fleet gunnery trials, which saw the first use of a new system of centralized fire control in the French fleet, Neptune, Marceau, and Brennus all achieved more than 25 percent hits at ranges of between and . She remained in service with the Mediterranean Squadron in 1898. The French fleet was reorganized in 1899, and the three Marceau-class ships were organized as a separate division attached to the Mediterranean Squadron for torpedo and gunnery training purposes. The unit was commanded by Rear Admiral Gabriel Godin. In the 1890s, the French began rebuilding older ironclads to prolong their useful lives, and modernizations for the three Marceaus were authorized that year. Neptune and her two sisters were assigned to the 1899 fleet maneuvers, which lasted from 5 to