A shop can pull the bb for you for a small fee even if you don't want them overhauling it. It may turn out to be pitted and useless and you can inspect it at home. Plus, make sure you are turning it the right way because French bbs did not use a reverse thread direction on the opposite side.
I guess you could probably reuse a pitted spindle by installing the crank opposite to the way it was before, so the fatigued area of the spindle is facing the other way. I have not tried this.