As Fred said there was sure loads of "French bike culture" around Washington, DC when no one else knew a thing about Singer or Herse. I still don't. French bikes around around here c.1965-80 was spelled two ways:
Peugeot or Gitane
My dad had a low-end Gitane around 1965 and my little brother who never cycled got a brand new baby Peugeot racer. Everyone had French bikes c. 1965-75 if they didn't have Raleighs. I mean regular folks... I didn't hang around with pros or semi pros when I was 15. Still don't at age 47. But I sure saw a lot of French bikes from the lowest end AO-8 to PX-10s galore.
Our local cycle shop, Tow Path Cycles, was an early stockist of Peugeot. We all know about Mel Pinto. Even today, this area is positively thronged by now veteran Peugeots in everyday commuter service.. the UE-8 mixte frame is a perennial. I must see six a day.
So again it's a matter of the tail wagging the dog... we've been riding and loving French bikes for a long time, at least around here. Just not the fancy Herse and Singers or whatevers. Didn't even know there was a French bike "culture". But we had mudguards. Little Sobitez generators. And headlamps on the front mudguards with the amber-tinted bulbs. I guess that IS French bike culture. We just knew a little secret: you could get more bike for the buck from Peugeot in the 1970s than any company out there. No wonder the PX-10 and her siblings just don't seem to make the grade snob appeal-wise. We distain what we could almost afford when we were 17!
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA