I recently watched a PBS documentary (Secrets of the Dead) about the seizure and shelling of the French fleet in 1940. I was somewhat taken aback by the refusal of the French to sail with the British. It seemed that they would rather sink their own ships than work with GB. Given that France had capitulated at the time, what was the purpose of resisting the British? Also, the French seem very angry about the incident, some even calling it murder. I don't understand what the French were thinking. From my perspective, they were defeated and the only way to regain their country was to fight the Germans. Given this situation, why did the French so strongly resist transferring their fleet to English ports?
You are thinking of Mers-el-Kebir in July 1940.
France made a peace with Germany in June 1940, but still existed as a sovereign state on paper, and at least early on, in practice. The peace was signed by what was to become the Vichy government of Petain, who took power in the last days of the Battle of France. The constitutionality of that move is a touchy subject in France, and not one that I can claim to really answer, but at the time, pretty much all governments recognized the Vichy government as representative of France. Britain, the US, Germany, and the USSR for example recognized the Vichy regime in late June 1940. de Gaulle and the Free French were fairly insignificant- the BBC didn't even keep an audio copy of de Gaulle's famous Bastille day speech.
Under the terms of the French surrender, Germany occupied the northern half of the country and the western coast. The costs of this military occupation was paid for by the French. Vichy France was still in control of the nation's infrastructure, running the civil service, police, etc throughout the country, even in the occupied area. The army was limited to 100,000 men, and the navy couldn't move or be used withou German agreement, but after the peace treaty France was an ostensibly independent, neutral country at peace, hosting German armed forces, but not controlled by them. Furthermore, the Vichy government was quite popular in France, and was decidedly pro-German. Again, this can be a very contentious issue, but it is necessary to realize that much of France in the late 1930's and in the early 1940's was decidedly right-wing. Many people viewed the country as now at peace, and did not want war "again".
Then, fast-forward a month. The French fleet was not insignificant, and would have helped the Germans immensely in the Mediterranean. There was already considerable tension between the British and French governments, because the French viewed the evacuation at Dunkerque as a betrayal, plus the fact that Britain was hosting the up-start de Gaulle, who I believe was declared a traitor by the Vichy regime (which was, again, the formally recognized government of France). The British demanded that the French fleet sail to distant French bases in the Pacific or even come to British ports. The French government refused, because a) The Vichy regime was very popular at home and was pro-German and b) France was now a neutral country, and what right did the underhanded British have to dictate the policy and actions of the magnifique French navy? A task force of British ships showed up outside the principal French anchorage at Mers-el-Kebir, and gave an ultimatum. The French admiral in charge, bound by his orders and his role as a naval officer of France, declined, and the British ships opened fire.
This whole set of events was a very bold move by the British. Several ships already in British ports were also seized just before the attack, and on one submarine (the Sourcouf, I believe) British marines and French sailors were killed in a shoot-out. The most important thing to take away is that after the treaty, the officially recognized French government (and the British too) saw France as a sovereign state, with it's own armed forces, and the British were trying to seize or sink French ships.
There is a few things that you left out, not intentionally I think, but that does need to be adressed.
Churchill and Admiral Darlan (The French Naval Head Honcho) had an agreement that if the Germans ever attempted to seize the French Navy they would scuttle the ships their buy denying the fleet to the Germans.
Darlan Did not feel that surrender was necessary for he made a promise to scuttle the fleet.
Churchill did not trust Darlan and demanded the following:
Sail to Canada/USA or the West Indies and port for the remainder of the war.
Sail to England and port for the reminader of the war.
Join the Fleet and continue the war.
Darlan insisted that this was not necessary and that the French Navy would honor its agreement.
Due to the lack of trust, the attack on the fleet went forward.
Intrestingly enough a few years later, the Germans attempted to sieze the rest of the french fleet in Toulon and Admiral Darlan scuttled his ships just as he promised he would. He then sent a message to Churchill saying "It seems to me you did not believe my word. The destruction of the fleet at Toulon has just proved that I was right."