In the early 1930s, the French Navy began construction of the two small s in response to the German s. The Italian "Regia Marina" (Royal Navy)—France's other major naval rival—announced on 11 June 1935 that it would begin building two battleships of the in response to the "Dunkerque"s. The Italian ships were to be armed with nine guns, significantly more powerful than the eight guns of the French ships. In order to maintain parity, the French realized that similar vessels would be required to counter the new Italian ships. At the time, battleship construction was governed by the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited displacement to 35,000 tons and gun armament to .