Why the French fleet could not respond better to Operation Torch

Could the French Navy have positioned itself better for Operation Torch?

Only with warning, fuel, organization, and a concentrated force able to sortie.

A more effective response required advance knowledge of Torch, enough fuel, and a fleet organized and concentrated to sortie. Without those conditions, the French position was close to the best that circumstances allowed. Merely moving individual ships would not solve a readiness problem created by surprise, fuel scarcity, and dispersed command. Fleet positioning matters only when ships also possess the information and logistical freedom to act.