Since we were speaking of other French constructeurs beyond Herse and Singer - at Il Vecchio in Seattle, there is a delightful little 650B Jo Routens women's randonneur bike on display. Most amazing fillet brazing of all those tubes, some cool components, a nice front rack, fenders, lights and all. It even carries its Simplex plastic derailleurs well - they must have been hot stuff at the time. Probably dates from the mid- to late 1960s. Definetely worth a look if you are in the area. While you are there, check out George's 2000 model Alex Singer randonneur, spec'd with modern components, but still a true randonneur except for its lack of lights.
Jan Heine, Seattle