Drachinifel has a vid on Mers-El-Kebir. It seems that although the French were presented a reasonable set of demands, the French admiral(?) in charge refused to meet with the British officer because the Brit wasn't ranked high enough. When the demands were finally presented, this Frenchman passed on up his chain of command that the British were demanding the fleet be surrendered to the RN. The other options were never mentioned. I found the information in the video quite frustrating for if it were true, a lot harm could have been avoided. I haven't watched it in a while.