The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 11-oct-54-Riom.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Havre for October 13, 1954, reported that "during last night", Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, law enforcement officers of the urban squad of Riom, who carried out a patrol, had seen in the sky "a cigar-shaped craft going from south to north." Three red fireballs reportedly broke off and illuminated for a few moments part of the sky. The "cigar" was metallic in appearance, similar to duralumin.
The newspaper Le Quotidien of the Haute-Loire specified that it had happened during the night from October 10 to 11, 1954, at 00:45 a.m.
[Ref. lhe1:] NEWSPAPER "LE HAVRE":
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(4) Continued from the first page
above Machault a circular craft emitting a fairly bright light, of orange color. The disc, which was about the diameter of a full moon, was moving at relatively slow pace, crossing the sky horizontally.
MELUN. -- Mr. Demarchy, butcher in Seine-Port, and one of his friends, who were traveling by car in Nandy, reported seeing a luminous disc flying at an altitude of about 800 meters. The two butchers left their car and followed the evolution of the craft for about a minute.
QUIMPER. -- Mr. Correntin Couarch, 58-year-old, resident of the village of Elliant (the Finistère), farm worker, saw in the sky, at 200 meters above sea level, a luminous craft which he cannot specify the shape and size. He said that, frightened, he had turned off the lantern of his bicycle to avoid attracting attention and walked away quickly. At one kilometer, he said, he looked back and saw the light stopped at ground level.
TOULOUSE. -- In the night from Saturday to Sunday, a baker from Bompas (Pyrénées-Orientales), Mr. Sebelli saw, landed in a street of this village a cigar-shaped object about two feet long, surrounded by iridescent glow.
Mr. Sebelli woke up neighbors who witnessed the fast departure of the craft.
Elsewhere, three young hunters yesterday saw the moves above Gaillac (Aveyron), at high altitude, of a cigar-shaped object in the sky which followed a series of large "S". Each course was accompanied by a noise comparable to a jet of pressurized steam. The craft disappeared suddenly towards the North.
Lastly, in Pont-de-Salars (Aveyron), a person saw in the sky, toward the Couhant, a disc surrounded by a wide luminous circle of an unsustainable shine. Slowly descended toward the horizon, the disc disappeared at breakneck speed.
RIOM. -- During the last night, the police officers Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, of the Riom urban squad, who were on patrol saw in the sky a cigar-shaped craft that was heading from South to North. Three balls of red fire detached and illuminated for a few moments a part of the sky. The cigar was of a metallic appearance, similar to duralumin.
NANCY. -- During the night from Sunday to Monday, the residents of a farm located a few hundred meters from the village of Moncourt (the Meurthe-et-Moselle), have been excited by an abnormal whistling sound outside. Through the shutters, they distinguished a blinding light that seemed set on a hillside and disappeared soon after by rising vertically. This afternoon, the research undertaken towards the place indicated by the witnesses discovered on a dirt road, traces of intense burn. Samples of rock and dirt were taken to be submitted to experts.
LA ROCHELLE. -- A colonial teacher currently on vacation in the Oléron Island, Mr. Martin, claims to have met two lovely Martian, measuring about 1 m. 70, booted, gloved and helmeted of leather. Both Martians seized Mr. Martin's pend and traced incomprehensible signs in his notebook while trying to make themselves understood. Mr. Martin reportedly carefully kept this manuscript.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
Paris. -- The saucers are inhabited: dozens of French people say so, and the descriptions roughly match: small hairy men, not mean, but using an incomprehensible language and gifted with an uncommon talent for escaping.
Here is now the visit that everybody hoped for: that of the Martian girls. Mr. Martin had the pleasure to be the first to welcome them.
Mr. Martin is currently on vacation on the Oléron island. He is resting, contemplating the waves and the pine trees forest, from the heavy climate of Africa under which he teaches the little black kids to read and write. Hiking is his favorite pastime. The walk he made on Monday will surely stay in his memory. At the turn of the path that smelled a good autumn air, he saw two pretty girls he identified as Martian. They were about 1m70, were wearing boots, glove and had leather helmets. Mr. Martin, barely recovering from his surprize, wanted to start a conservation, but failed to be understood.
Then the two Martians grabbed his pen and his notebook to trace signs that were incomprehensible all the same.
The interview was over.
Mr. Martin reportedly faithfully kept this manuscript. Probably to show it to his young pupils...
Apart from that, the descriptions of the last twenty-four hours are really lacking originality. Let's note all the same the testimony of Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technical agent. "Coming back from Toulouse with two relatives, he said, I suddenly distinguished in the beam of my headlights two small beings who crossed the road only a few meters above my car, I immediately stopped and, to our great amazement, we saw a big red disc take off from a nearby meadow, of a six meters diameter approximately, rising vertically. The craft disappeared in the sky in a few seconds."
The cigar of Bompas (Pyrénées Orientales) spread a commotion in the village, because it landed in the middle of the street, at midnight, however. It is the country's baker, Me. Sebelli, who saws this. In the Aveyron, three hunters followed, above Gaillac, the moves of a two meters long cigar; which followed in the sky a series of big "S". Each move was made with a noise comparable to a stream of vapor under pressure.
Three balls of fire and a red cigar disturbed the night patrol of two police officers of Riom, Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, and a luminous disc moving at 800 meters of altitude approximately interrupted the travel of two butchers of Melun, who came out of the car to better see the phenomenon.
[Ref. lqh1:] NEWSPAPER "LE QUOTIDIEN DE LA HAUTE-LOIRE":
[...]
During the night from the 10th to the 11th of October at 00:45, policemen Robert Thévenin and Albert Daury, of the urban squad of Riom, clearly saw a machine in the shape of a cigar in the sky which followed the direction south-north. Balls of fire were ejected from the front of the cigar and lit it. Three of these balls were counted by the civils servant and in their gleam, the apparatus shone like duralumin. Almost at once after their ejection these balls died out. The total vision of the phenomenon lasted several seconds.
[...]
Note: full article here.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
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Riom, 12. -- During the night from Sunday to Monday, the peacekeepers Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, of Riom's urban corps, who were doing a round, saw in the sky a cigar-shaped craft which went from South to North. Three balls of red light detached from it and illuminated for a few moments part of the sky. The cigar was metallic in appearance, similar to duralumin.
Melun, 12. -- Mr. Jules Lefranc, a bank employee living in Paris, saw in the sky, near the François de Tessart stadium in Meaux, for about three minutes, an object brightly lit from the inside which, he stated, had the shape of a small soccer ball. The object disappeared, leaving behind, said the witness, a luminous trail the size of a stove pipe.
Residents of Trilport reportedly saw an identical stationary apparatus.
Limoges, 12. -- In Saillat-sur-Vienne, Sunday evening at dusk, Mr. Roger Gayout, transporter at Limoges, his wife and relatives saw in the sky a very brilliant mysterious machine which, after having moved for a few minutes, seemed to land a few kilometers further.
Nancy, 12. -- In the night from Sunday to Monday, inhabitants of a farm located a few hundred meters from the village de Moncours (Meurthe-et-Moselle), were stirred by an abnormal whistling sound, through the shutters they distinguished a blinding glow which seemed fixed on the side of a hill and which disappeared shortly after while rising vertically. In the afternoon, research undertaken towards the place indicated by the witnesses revealed traces of intense calcination on a dirt road. Stone and earth samples were taken to be submitted to experts.
Melun, 12. -- Mr. Demarcy, a butcher at Seine-Port, and one of his friends, who were traveling by car in Nandy, said they saw a luminous disc moving at an altitude of around 800 meters. The two butchers got out of their car and followed the move of the craft for about a minute.
Mulhouse, 12. -- Having seen a light in a pasture on Sunday evening, two young girls from Heimersdorf, Anny and Roselyne Pracht, 22 and 18 years old, approached thinking it was a fire lit by a shepherd. They then saw, they claim, a machine about 2 meters high. At their approach, the barrel-shaped object, turned to glowing red, rose in the air and disappeared on the horizon. The same phenomenon was seen by two other people.
Quimper, 12. -- Mr. Corentin Couarch, 38 years old, living in the village of Elliant (Finistère), agricultural worker, saw in the sky, at 200 meters above sea level, a luminous craft whose shape and size he could not specify. He said that in fright he had turned off the lantern of his bicycle so as not to attract attention and moved away quickly. At 1 km, he said, he looked back and saw the light stopped at ground level.
Toulouse, 12. -- In the night from Saturday to Sunday, a baker from Bompas (Pyrénées-Orientales), Mr. Sebelli, saw, posed in a street in this village, a cigar-shaped object about two meters in length, surrounded by iridescent lights.
Mr. Sebelli woke up neighbors who witnessed the rapid departure of the apparatus.
Also, three young hunters saw moving yesterday above Gaillac (Aveyron), at a high altitude, an object in the shape of a cigar which described in the sky a series of large "S". Each maneuver was accompanied by a noise comparable to a jet of pressurized steam. The craft suddenly disappeared towards the North.
Finally, in Pont de Salars (Aveyron), a person saw last night u the sky, towards the sunset location, a disc surrunded of a large luminous circle with an unbearable brightness. Descended slowly toward the horizon, the disc disappeared at breakneck speed.
Melun, 12. -- A resident of Fontainebleau said he saw above Machault, a circular craft emitting a fairly bright glow, orange in color. The disc, which was about the diameter of a full moon, was moving at a fairly slow pace, crossing the sky horizontally.
La Rochelle, 12. -- A colonial teacher, currently on leave on the island of Oléron, Mr. Martin, claims to have met on the island of Oléron two pretty Martian women measuring approximately 1 m. 70, in boots, gloves and leather helmets. The two Martians took hold of Mr. Martin's pen and traced incomprehensible signs on his notebook, while trying to make themselves understood. Mr. Martin is said to have taken great care of this manuscript.
The "Martians" (broad shouldered) repair on the spot and take back the air
Munster, 12. -- Mr. Hoge, a film operator, was near Münster (Westphalia) when he saw in a field four "men" in rubber suits who were busy under an object in the shape of cigar. Mr. Hoge watched them work for ten minutes, without approaching, and, finally, the four men entered by a sort of ladder into the cigar which, after taking off, took the form of a saucer projecting a dazzling light.
The four "men" whose height was about 1.20 m. had, according to Mr. Hoge, a rather large torso, a head proportionally too large for their body and slender legs.
Three children from Pournoy-la-Chétive, near Verny (Moselle) claim that they saw a saucer and its passenger. They told their story to their parents, repeated it to the teacher, and confirmed it to the Mayor. All three were roller-skating on Friday afternoon near the cemetery. There was Gilbert Calba, 12 years old; Daniel Hirsch, 9, and his brother Jean-Pierre, 5.
"At around [?]:30, said Gilbert, we saw a luminous and round machine landing, about 2.30 meters in diameter. The craft landed very close to us. It had yellow and white stripes and landed on three feet.
"Soon a man came out, holding an electric lamp in his hand.
"He was very small (about 1.20 m), had large eyes, a hairy face and wore a sort of black cassock like the priest. The man came to speak to us in incomprehensible language and we fled, frightened.
"We looked back a little further. The very bright object rose very high and very quickly in the sky."
This story is partially confirmed by another resident of Pournoy-la-Chétive, Robert Maguin, 16, who said he also saw around the same time a mysterious machine, but he was not close enough to distinguish the details.
Albi, 12. -- A motorist from Briatexte (Tarn), Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technical agent in a company currently exhibiting at the "Household Arts" of Toulouse, claims to have met, at nightfall, on the National Road Nr 631, the passengers of a flying saucer.
"Coming back from Toulouse, in the company of two relatives, he said, I suddenly distinguished in the beam of my headlights two little characters who crossed the road, barely a few meters from my car. I stopped immediately and, to our great astonishment, we then saw flying away from a neighboring meadow a large red disc with a diameter of six meters. Climbing vertically, the craft disappeared in the sky in a few seconds."
[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":
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During the Metz fair-exhibition, the army stand installed a radar device and a powerful projector for visitors; which works non-stop after dark. Sunday, around 8:10 p.m., the projector spotted, in its beam, the presence of a motionless globe in the sky: "It looked like a Christmas tree ball," said the head of the radar station, Commander Cotel, who was soon surrounded by fifteen military specialists.
It was first believed that it was a sounding balloon, then all kinds of assumptions were made. The servants of the projector, at first incredulous, cleaned the windows then even changed the coals of the device. But immediately when turned on again, the projector found the luminous globe whose altitude was evaluated at more than 10,000 meters. This globe had a diameter of 50 meters and remained visible for three hours. It was impossible, on radar, to detect the mysterious craft, since it was not sensitive to metallic waves. Finally, at 11:00 p.m., the strange globe moved east and disappeared. The General Governor of Metz asked Commander Cottel for a full report.
Near Albi, a technical agent from a company exhibiting in the Household Arts of Toulouse, Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, returned to his home at the end of the working day. Suddenly, he saw in the beam of his headlights, and the two parents who accompanied him also affirm it, little figures crossing the road. He stopped immediately and saw a large red disc with a diameter of about six meters rising vertically from a neighboring meadow.
A colonial teacher on leave on the island of Oléron does not hesitate to associate his name with an incredible adventure. Mr. Martin was walking on the island when he encountered pretty "Martian" girls, measuring about 1.70 m., booted, gloved and with leather helmets. The two "Martians" grabbed Mr. Martin's pen and traced incomprehensible signs on his notebook, trying to make themselves understood.
The teacher keeps the manuscript preciously.
At Riom, peacekeepers who were doing a round saw in the sky a cigar going up to the north. Three fireballs detached themselves and lit up part of the sky for a few moments. Similar phenomena were seen in Bompas, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in Quimper (Finistère), in Limoges, in Fontainebleau, in Melun and Mulhouse while in Moncourt (Meurthe-et-Moselle) the inhabitants of a farm were dazzled by a blinding light passing through their shutters. The light disappeared vertically.
[Ref. fso1:] NEWSPAPER "FRANCE SOIR":
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A GIANT ROCKET, taking off from a field, was seen by M. Pierre Vidal, cook, residing at Croix Daurade, near Toulouse, and his nephew, Ange Hurle. It disappeared in a bright orange and pale green wake. At the presumed location of the rocket, the grass was covered with a fatty vapor with an oil smell.
A professor of mathematics from Lisieux, Mr. Bon, saw in Saint-Germain-de-Livet, above a wood, a silvery disk seven or eight meters; which rose silently in the sky, rotating on itself. After diving to the ground from an altitude of about 800 meters, it left again at the horizontal at a dizzying pace.
A GENERAL COUNCILMAN, a coffee-maker, a rugby player and a swimming champion, saw above the chapel of Romilly in the direction of Montgelas (Rhone) a flying saucer looking like a ball of fire.
A three meters high bell, moving with twelve meters jumps in an orange glow and emitting greenish sparks, was seen for an hour on the Evreux Louviers railway by an artisan, his apprentice and a farm worker.
A LUMINOUS MUSHROOM, which moved quickly and silently, was seen Monday evening around 9:30 p.m., by Mrs. Drouillard, at La Roche-sur-Yon.
A FLYING CIGAR, of metallic appearance, from which three red balls detached, was seen by Messrs. Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, guardians of the peace of the urban body of Riom (Puy-de-Dôme).
ANOTHER CIGAR, surrounded by iridescent lights was observed in Bompas (Pyrénées-Orientales) by the baker M. Sebelli.
AN OBLONG-SHAPED ENGINE, moving in the sky as in a big "S" and making a sound of steam under pressure was seen by three young hunters above Gaillac (Aveyron). The same machine was reportedly observed in Pont-de-Salars.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that the two police officers Thévenin and Daury, of Riom, in Auvergne, which carried out their round in the second half of the night from the 10th to the 11th of October, had seen "a craft in the shape of a cigar which moved South to North. Three brilliant balls were detached and flew in quick circles. The cigar, continuing its flight, also disappeared towards the North" in the sky.
He put the sighting location on a map supposed to demonstrate cases are lined up:
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[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 2 [, 1954]
[... Other cases...]
Night (or I°/10 before midnight?): Riom (Puy-de-Dôme): metallic cigar + 3 sph. of fire
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 11 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
Id. [="2nd half of the night"] : Riom (Puy-de-Dôme): cigar + 3lumin. sph.
[... other cases...]
[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
The author indicates that among the cases with an expulsion then a re-entry of saucers from a big cigar, there is the case of Riom in the Puy-de-Dome, October 11, 1954, reported by Aimé Michel on page 271.
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 298 | -003.11661 | 45.80280 | 09 | 11 | 1954 | 02 | 00 | 2 | *RIOM-PUY DE DOME | F | 1232 | C | 271 |
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
The magazine indicates that on October 11, 1954 in Riom, M. Thévenin et M. Daury, policemen, on night patrol, saw a cigar-shaped craft on a South to North trajectory, and that 3 luminous balls detached from the craft. Aimé Michel is indicated as source.
[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":
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The "Compact Cigars"
[... other cases...]
No 4. 10/11/1954 Riom (Puy de Dôme) night; size unknown.
[... other cases...]
What is remarkable in this series of observations is that all these craft whose exact size could not be assessed were all enormous. [...]
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Riom in the Puy-de-Domes on October 11, 1954 at 00:45 a.m., two policemen observed a machine in the shape of a cigar from where balls of fire escaped.
The authors indicate that the source is La Montagne for October 12, 1954.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| --------- | Night | Riom S/N (Puy de Dome) | x | 300V2 |
[Ref. mju1:] MICHEL JEANTHEAU:
This ufologist indicates that during the night of Monday, October 11, 1954, at 0:45 o'clock, the peacekeepers Roger Thevenin and Albert Daury, of the urban cops of Riom, were able to observe a "flying cigar" which ejected three "balls of fire".
He gives the source as La Montagne, of Clermont-Ferrand, page 3, of October 12, 1954.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4057: 1954/10/11 00:50 2 3:07:00 E 45:54:00 N 3333 WEU FRN PDD 7:8
RIOM,FR:2 COPS:LRG CGR >N STEADY:3 SHINY ORBS EXIT and away:/LDLN#125+/r30p152
Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 78 : TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that in 1954, on October 11, in France, in Riom, the Puy de Dôme, at 0:45, two policemen observe a craft in the shape of a cigar from which balls of fire escape.
The source is noted "M. Figuet / J.L. Ruchon in "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." éd. Alain Lefeuvre 1979, p. 152".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Puy de Dômes, in Riom, on October 11, 1954, at 00:45 hours, two policemen observe a craft in the shape of a cigar from which three bright balls escaped, which circle quickly. The whole disappears toward the north.
The source is indicated as "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 10 October 1954, in Riom, France, there was a "cigar-shaped UFO moving S-N; three glowing objects detached and moved away. Cigar-shaped objects were observed. Four cigar-shaped objects, about 5 feet across, were observed by one witness in a city (Thevenin)."
The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Hall, Richard H., The UFO Evidence, NICAP, Washington, 1964; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the case 5 times instead of one:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541010 | 10.10.1954 | Riom | France | NL | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Riom | France | 00.00 | NL | |||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Riom | France | 00.00 | NL | |||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Riom | France | 02.00 | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Riom | France | Afternoon | NL |
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Possible meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Riom, Puy-de-Dôme, Thévenin, Daury, police officers, multiple, cigar, North, South, spheres, object, craft, balls, shining, shiny
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 7, 2003 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 19, 2008 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [mcs1], [goe1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 20, 2008 | Addition [uda1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 28, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | September 21, 2014 | Addition [lhe1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | November 20, 2016 | Additions [ler1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2016 | Addition [fso1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | June 19, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | August 31, 2019 | Additions [mju1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | February 22, 2020 | Addition [nnm1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | June 16, 2020 | Addition [ner1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | November 28, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | May 3, 2022 | Additions [gqy2], [gep1]. |
| 2.1 | Patrick Gross | July 11, 2022 | Addition [gab1]. |
