Ironclad and pre-dreadnought labels mark a transition

The boundary between an ironclad and a pre-dreadnought was not a single, clean design break. Dates provided rough shorthand, while hull design, armour, engines, and weapon arrangements offered subtler distinctions. The labels remain useful when they describe those material changes. The French ships under discussion sit in the transitional zone, where a rigid category can obscure how warship design was developing.