Thanks to JohnDThompson , I won't have to attempt hand-filing. For the cost of shipping and insurance, I can use the correct tool designed by Mavic for the job.

As fast as using the Mavic/Stronglight sealed BB as opposed a more bog-standard threaded unit---- well, I guess there's just some appeal to using interesting tech from the same era as the Alain Michel frame itself. Plus I've heard generally great things about these units--- I think my frame has a drain hole in the bb shell so rust shouldn't be too much of an issue. Also this bike is not likely to be ridden in the rain that often....

N