The propulsion system was rated for a total of and yielded a maximum speed of , though with forced draft up to was expected—on trials, "Richelieu" achieved for for a brief period. The ships carried of fuel oil normally, but during wartime they carried only to keep as much of the belt armor above water as possible. With a full load of fuel and cruising at a speed of , the ships could steam for . At , the range fell to . Steering was controlled by a single counter-balanced rudder; the rudder could be controlled via the conning tower, the secondary conning position in the superfiring main battery turret, or directly in the steering compartment. If power to the steering gear failed completely, a backup manual steering gear that required twenty-four men to operate could be used.