The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 12-Oct-54-Villefranche pass.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper of the Communist Party, Le Patriote de Nice et du Sud-Est, dated October 14, 1954, reported a local sighting by several people who were at the Col de Villefranche on October 12, 1954, around 8:30 p.m.
These people reportedly saw, above the Mont-Boron forest, a very bright, orange-colored flying saucer which, after rising vertically, "disappeared" at great speed, "as fast as a shooting star," the witnesses told the newspaper. The newspaper added that the sighting lasted "only a few tenths of a second," but that this "was sufficient, however, for those who saw it to be firmly convinced that this flying object definitely belonged to the family of the 'saucers' being seen all around the world."
[Ref. pdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PATRIOTE DE NICE ET DU SUD-EST":
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about 10 to 12 meters in size, with an orange glow emerging from its base.
A farm worker joined the two men to observe the phenomenon. All three stated that the "bell" remained visible for nearly an hour. Then the orange glow intensified, and the object rose quickly in a vertical ascent, heading eastward.
And to think we used to believe that bells only fly at Easter!
FROM LA ROCHE-SUR-YON. -- Mme. Drouillard, residing in La Roche-sur-Yon, stated that she saw in the sky, Tuesday night around 11:30 p.m., a luminous craft resembling a mushroom, moving very quickly and silently.
If mushrooms start flying, say goodbye to the lovely foraging walks in the woods come autumn.
FROM NEVERS. -- Two residents of Clamecy (Nièvre), Messrs. Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron, traveling vendors, stated that they saw a cylindrical-shaped craft in a field near Corbigny.
They claim that when they were about fifty meters from the craft, they felt an electric shock, while the engine of their truck stopped and the headlights went out. Once the craft disappeared, the headlights turned back on, but they had to restart the engine manually.
We'd already heard a similar version, except in that case, the Martians managed to restart the engine themselves as they left. Too bad, this time the trick didn't work.
Above the Mont Boron forest, several people who were at the Col de Villefranche on Tuesday evening around 8:30 p.m. also reported seeing a very bright, orange-colored flying saucer. After rising vertically, it disappeared at great speed, "as fast as a shooting star," they told us.
It lasted only a few tenths of a second. Still, it was enough for the witnesses to be firmly convinced that this flying object definitely belonged to the "saucer" family spotted around the world.
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Villefranche pass, Alpes-Maritimes, multiple, duration, fast, vertical, orange, luminous, Mont-Boron
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 5, 2025 | First published. |
