The partnership with Trek to sell glitches in the US in the 80's was good for Gitane, as the quality of their bikes reqlly went up from just being similar to Peugeot and Motobecane to much better build quality and finishes. The brazing quality and lug point final shaping on my 84 Gitane TdF is definitely a couple of steps up from my 84 Peugeot PSV. The red finish on the TdF was a breath of fresh air in their model lineup, and it really stood out amongst the mostly blue bikes they sold those years.
I don't like what direction Gitane went in the late 80's though, with graphics that were notthat great and paint colors that were not that striking. Heck, they even went to a cow motif with white paint and splotches of black! Peugeot at that time, went similarly with uninspiring colors and graphics on the bikes, too.