French fleet sunk 1940, or more accurately the seven capital ships Richelieu, Jean Bart, Dunkerque, Strasbourg, Bretagne, Provence, and Lorraine are sunk (or interned under Allied control.)
Bretagne WAS destroyed at Mers-el-Kebir with Dunkerque and Provence damaged and beached, if they had sunk Strasbourg at sea would have a free hand to return and shell and torpedo bomb the other two had that been ordered to point refloating and moving them impossible.
Lorraine interned at Alexandria, if under relatively friendly agreement.
Richelieu and Jean Bart never fully capable receive successive waves of bombing, in response to French bombing of Gibraltar.
practical effects would be that the one fully operational battleship Strasbourg is eliminated and casualties would be much greater.
what would be political effects? would the revenge faction of French military be larger? or would it undercut Vichy regime?