Reporter Julie Asher and photographer Mathieu Derrien of TF1 television station in France interview Elaine Roop, president of the Gendron Franco Center board, Tuesday at the center on Cedar Street in Lewiston. Roop holds a sign once common in stores throughout Lewiston and Auburn to let customers know that at least one employee spoke French. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Reporter Julie Asher and photographer Mathieu Derrien of TF1 television station in France interview Gendron Franco Center board member Edmond Gay Tuesday at the center in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Reporter Julie Asher and photographer Mathieu Derrien of TF1 television station in France interview French-speaking residents Tuesday at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Board members and staff of the Gendron Franco Center give TF1 television reporters from France a tour of the center Tuesday in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Gendron Franco Center board President Elaine Roop, second from right, laughs while being interviewed Tuesday by TF1 television reporters from France at the center in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Gendron Franco Center board member Michael Lajoie, center, shares a story while being interviewed Tuesday by TF1 television reporters  from France at the center in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Mary Rice Defosse, a professor of French and Francophone studies at Bates College in Lewiston, shares a story Tuesday during an interview by a crew from TF1 television station from France at the Gendron Franco Center on Cedar Street. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal