Méditerranée, along with the battleships Brennus, Carnot, and Hoche and the armored cruisers , , and as more modern ships had joined the fleet. She initially served as the flagship of Joseph Besson, though by July 1903 her place as flagship had been taken by the battleship . During this period in reserve, the ship was frequently reactivated for short periods to replace active vessels that had to be docked for maintenance. During the fleet maneuvers in July 1905, Charles Martels main guns had a rate of fire of one round every nine minutes and her intermediate guns one round about every four minutes. She remained in the Escadre de réserve; by 1906, she was in the 2e Division, under the command of Paul-Louis Germinet. Her above-water torpedo tubes were removed on 13 June. On 16 September, she was present for a major fleet review in Marseilles that saw visits from British, Spanish, and Italian squadrons. The ship was maintained in a state of en disponibilité armée, a state of reduced readiness; Charles Martel was in full commission for three months of the year for training, and in reserve with a reduced crew for the remainder. She remained in this status for the duration of 1907. During an exercise off Corsica, the armored cruiser ran aground on 20 November 1907 during a severe storm. After lightening the cruiser, Charles Martel and the armored cruiser were able to pull Condé off. In September 1909 the battleship became the flagship of the Inspector of Flotillas and one of her propellers was damaged by an errant torpedo while the inspector was observing firing exercises by torpedo boats. The following month the Marine nationale was reorganized with the Escadre de la Méditerranée redesignated as the 1re Escadre and the Escadre du Nord as the 2e Escadre, since by then the six and s had entered service. The new ships allowed for the creation of a new 2e Escadre de ligne (Second Battle Squadron) within the 1re Escadre, Charles Martel became the replacement ship for the 2e Escadre on 5 October and departed for Cherbourg on 5 November, sustaining some storm damage en route. After her arrival on the 13th, she welcomed King Manuel II of Portugal to France and then escorted the British royal yacht Victoria and Albert, with King Edward VII aboard, back to Britain. The ship was assigned to 2e Division de