He was interned with his command at Alexandria until 1943, and then retired on suspicion of favouring Henri Giraud over Charles De Gaulle.

In June 1940, he commanded French naval forces at Alexandria, where he negotiated, with British Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the peaceful internment of his ships.

The French squadron consisted of the battleship Lorraine, four cruisers (Duquesne, Tourville, Suffren and Duguay-Trouin), three destroyers (Basque, Forbin, Le Fortuné) and a submarine (Argo).

Controversially, after the collapse of Vichy authority following British and American landings in North Africa in November 1942 and the subsequent German occupation of Vichy France in November 1942, Godfroy refused to support the Allies even after all other French forces in North Africa had done so.

[2][3] René-Emile Godfroy died at Fréjus, southern France, in January 1981, aged 96.