Originally Posted by
Roody
At that time, in 1973, bicycling was very popular in France, both as sport and as basic transportation. By no means did all the French people give up their bikes as soon as the war ended. Motor
scooters were also extremely popular, although virtually unknown in America.
Apparently most of the French bicycle manufacturers and constructors went out of business in the 50's and 60's and those that didn't had to significantly down size--See BQ articles. So you are clearly wrong. That it may have eventually regained some popularity by the 70's does nothing to change that, nor do you have any idea if that level of popularity even approached what France experienced in the 30's...