When Admiral Henri du Couëdic de Kerérant took command in June 1924, the Naval Division of the Levant (DNL) was mainly composed of the command ship, the armored cruiser Waldeck-Rousseau, three armed warships, Bethune, Baccarat and Mondement and two gunboats Agile and Dedaigneuse. The Waldeck-Rousseau was to be recalled in France at the end of the year to be disarmed, due to budgetary restrictions. It will not be replaced, but a number of other ships, including the "Jeanne d'Arc" will compensate for this decrease in the French presence in the Levant.