Could older French battleships face Littorio?

Were the older French battleships useful against a modern Littorio-class ship?

Yes as part of a concentrated squadron; Allied commanders would avoid a one-on-one duel and use numbers to make the Italian ship withdraw or suffer heavy damage.

The discussion accepts that older French super-dreadnoughts were individually inferior to a modern Littorio-class battleship. Allied planners would avoid a one-on-one duel when combined French and British numbers permitted concentration. Three or four older ships could force the Italian battleship to retreat, accept crippling damage, or risk being overwhelmed after sinking only one opponent. The exchange reframes warship quality as a fleet-allocation problem rather than a paper comparison between isolated hulls.