Saint-Louis

With the outbreak of World War II, the French suspended the construction of ships that could not be completed in the near future. The keel-laying for planned ships, including heavy cruisers, was also canceled, but development of the projects continued. In 1940, a new shipbuilding program was approved, which included the construction of three cruisers with a displacement of 13,000 tons. There were four variants of the draft design that differed in their defense systems. The German invasion in the summer of 1940 interfered with the French cruiser construction plans.