Ordered as Union in February 1762, the ship was renamed Provence on 17 March, and begun in May on plans by engineer Gauthier. After an uneventful career, she was decommissioned in February 1769, but reactivated in April of the next year and commissioned under Captain Moriès-Castellet. She was appointed to a three-ship squadron under Captain de Broves and departed Toulon on 16 May, bound for Tunisia, where she blockaded the harbours of Sousse and Bizerte, and took part in the bombardment of the cities in late June.