In anticipation of an Italian declaration of war, the , including the 8th Scout Division, assembled in Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, on 5–9 April 1940, only to return to Brest when the Germans invaded Norway on the 10th. On the night of 23/24 April 1940, the 8th Scout Division made a high-speed patrol of the Skaggerak, hoping to attack German merchantmen headed for Norway. They encountered two patrol boats and damaged one of them while also engaging a pair of S-boats to little effect and narrowly missed spotting a convoy of minelayers. "Le Malin" then began experiencing engine problems and the ships were forced to reduce speed. Near-misses by German bombers damaged one of "Le Triomphant"s propeller shafts as they withdrew and she returned to Lorient on 30 April for repairs. As the Germans advanced in France and threatened the harbors in Brittany, the ship departed for Plymouth on 21 June.