Brueys did not order the fleet to do so, no, but some of his captains chose on their own initiative to set springs on their individual ships. Bonaparte had essentially ordered the fleet into a position that was convenient for his army's purposes and it was clear he did not much care what happened to it; Brueys and his officers knew they had essentially been abandoned and operated with a weird indifference in the days before the battle. Not only did he not order springs set, he did not even clear for action on the inshore side of his ships.