Could Mers-el-Kébir have been avoided?

Could Mers-el-Kébir have been avoided if the French fleet had joined Britain or moved to the Caribbean?

He believes it could have been avoided if French command had acted decisively or communicated its options clearly; the Caribbean was a serious alternative already under consideration.

The negotiated Alexandria settlement differed sharply from the confrontation at Mers-el-Kébir. Moving the French fleet to the Caribbean was a considered possibility rather than an improvised escape. In this assessment, the crisis might have been avoided if the local French commander had either exercised authority or transmitted the available choices fully and promptly to higher command. Somerville then faced the consequences of that indecision under intense political pressure. Command judgement, communication, and the handling of workable alternatives shaped the crisis between former allies.