Entering service just days after the loss of the Titanic, the first major liner of the CGT was outfitted with enough safety equipment for all on board - even though this was not yet a requirement! 

Built by Penhoet at St. Nazaire, She drew 23,666 tons, was 713 feet long, and was 75 feet across the beam.  She had four funnels, and could make 23 knots.  She served as a trooper (carrying 4,000 men) and later a hospital ship in World War 1, not resuming regular passenger service until 1919.  In 1928, when Ile De France eclipsed her in size and speed, the France began spending much of her time on cruises.   She was sold and broken up in 1934.

The France of 1912.  This and literally hundreds of other high-quality prints are available at www.kinshipsprints.com. 
© kinshipsprints.com - used with permission

Launched in 1916, the Paris waited out World War 1 as an empty hull.  She was finally completed in 1921, and 34,500 tons.  The decoration of Paris is said to mark the transition between the pre-war Art Nouveau and then-new Art Deco styles.  However, a fire in 1929 destroyed much of her original interiors.  The popular Ile De France, art deco personified, provided the model for her new interiors.  Her three-storey dining room remained truest to her original form.

She burned again and sank at LaHavre, and nearly caused the destruction of the Liberte which collided with her sunken hull in 1946.

Detail of an oil painting of the Paris
Gift of Charles and Cynthia Jackson