The 1954 French flap:

Every day its own crazy story...

Are the Martians cousins of Bao Dai?

Two loose pages from a brochure of the Prince of the Loch, discarded by Vietnamese campers, were mistaken for interstellar messages

CONTRARY to what some colleagues print, the file on "flying saucers" is not open in France because, for the moment, it would contain nothing but hot air. What is wide open, however, is the malfunctioning tap of those same colleagues and of the press agency that continues to feed us the most fanciful reports, mixed with clarifications and denials, indiscriminately, in bulk, as if they were road accidents and "incidents."

Among this uncontrolled flood, from which we have now decided to spare you, let us nevertheless gather, for the edification of our readers, these little pearls of imagination from some of our contemporaries.

On a vacant lot in Toulouse, three witnesses - including a teenager - saw, on October 13 at 7:33 p.m., a small diver-like figure, with a head large in proportion to its body, descend from a spherical craft and

Jacques DEROGY.

Continued on page 5, col. 3

FLYING SAUCERS

Continued from p.1, col.7

reddish. The diver-like figure shone like glass and rolled two enormous eyes. This is a classic portrait from so-called science fiction literature. But this time the green ray was missing.

Better still, in Montluçon, an SNCF employee, while crossing the tracks near the Gers bridge, encountered a 4-meter-long torpedo resting near a diesel fuel tank intended for railcars. Nearby stood a terribly hairy being.

"What are you doing there?" the railway worker reportedly asked, intrigued.

- "Diesel," replied the unknown, who was no doubt refueling his craft, since a few minutes later the vision vanished vertically without leaving any trace.

But as for traces, there are always "witnesses" ready to provide them. Witnesses such as the hunters of Saint-Ambroix (Gard), who, having seen seven tiny beings rush into a phosphorescent craft, discovered at the spot seeds of a strange appearance which no seed merchant in the region - emphasizes the report - was able to classify within any known species.

"Martians write in Quoc Ngu"

The best story of the day is nevertheless this one from Haute-Garonne, where a mechanic from Léguevin, Jean Marty, 42, claimed yesterday morning to have seen, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a luminous disc 7 meters in diameter and 2.5 meters high land in the middle of a field.

When the "witness" tried to approach, the disc rose into the air, silently, vertically, and at a dizzying speed. On the grass, at the spot from which the craft had taken off, Mr. Marty picked up two glossy sheets of paper, covered with printed characters, neither soiled, nor crumpled, nor damp, as if they had just been placed there. A former Indochina serviceman living in the region was able to decipher the text written in "quôc-ngũ," the Romanized script of the Vietnamese language, dealing with matters concerning Vietnam and the Viet Minh! From there to confusing the flying saucer file with that of "leaks" was only a step, one which a quick investigation prevented certain overactive imaginations from taking. Investigations immediately undertaken by air safety authorities revealed that they were in fact two pages torn from a brochure published by the services of Prince Buu Loc (representative of Bao Dai in France and cousin of the "emperor") and left at Léguevin by Vietnamese who had come to picnic... They dealt with ship arrivals in Indochinese ports and fish deliveries...

Saucers and balloons

Thus do the finest bubbles burst. It is enough to investigate. In the same way, the military authorities of Metz, who had opened an inquiry into the "mysterious" luminous circle caught Sunday evening in a searchlight beam, concluded that there was no need to take the published reports on the matter into consideration.

But military authorities should not be the only ones authorized to investigate the observations reported here and there. If we truly want to address the problem of the phenomena observed in our skies these days, we must put an end to this avalanche of hoaxes, rumors, and more or less fanciful tales, either by questioning the alleged witnesses, or, when their good faith is not in doubt, by investigating and informing the public about events that are often at the origin of serious observations.

Thus, a clarification was made yesterday by a resident of Croth-Sorel, Mrs. Omonts, regarding the "saucer" reported Saturday around 6:30 p.m. over the Saint-André region.

- The object was nothing more than an ordinary balloon, bearing a design painted in red at its top, and a gondola held by ropes.

We would no doubt also have been informed of a strange phenomenon in the Savoy sky, observed this morning in Modane, in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, in Aiguebelle where buses and cars stopped, in Chambéry and in Grenoble, where it was simultaneously attributed the shape of a flying serum bottle, if a radio amateur from Besançon, Mr. Brunet, had not at 1:30 p.m. picked up the following message:

University of Padua, in Milan (Italy), has launched balloon for nuclear research. Due to radar failure [!], craft has crossed the border heading toward Grenoble or probably at 5 p.m. GMT. Warn population as balloon may be dangerous [!] upon landing or afterward."

Toward the end of the evening, the prefecture of Isère received elsewhere two telegrams from Milan and Paris requesting "assistance for recovery of balloon carrying scientific equipment for the study of cosmic rays"... The parachute had been recovered in Briançon at 5:30 p.m., and the balloon envelope around 10 p.m. at the outskirts of Grenoble.

Cabaret owner - physicist

These examples show the possibilities of honest reporting. It does not consist of opening a "file" full of press clippings, excerpts from science fiction, and unchecked dispatches from agencies or correspondents. Still, such an "archive file" would have to be complete. It is rather amusing to read in the "file" opened four days ago by "France-Soir" that "the physicist George Adamski, who takes it for granted that the passengers of the saucers come from another planet, Mars or Venus, adds the decisive detail that the "Navy" is preparing brigades of specialists whose mission will be to welcome visitors from another world." Our colleague "Paris-Presse" had, in fact, ten days earlier, let the cat out of the bag - and others before him: "Finally, a certain George Adamski, a cabaret owner in California, made a fortune by describing the splendid blond youths from Venus who came in lampshade-shaped saucers and with whom he had the advantage of conversing at length."

Information has a positive role to play by submitting to specialists the plausible, precise, complete, and consistent accounts of good-faith witnesses, such as the observations reported yesterday by five residents of Toulon and by inhabitants of Le Luc, Cavalaire, and Saint-Jean-du-Var, who saw between 6:10 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. a fireball coming rapidly from the sea and disappearing behind the Cannet des Maures, leaving phosphorescent traces around it.

FLYING SAUCERS

(Continued from page 1)

The radio installed on board the aircraft and communicating with the base reported that the craft was in sight, it was being chased but was escaping, as its speed exceeded theirs.

From Vaucluse, the disc could clearly be seen speeding away like an arrow, pursued by the two jet planes.

THE FLYING SAUCER WAS ONLY A WEATHER BALLOON

CHAMBERY. -- The Savoyards were long puzzled yesterday by a "flying saucer" resembling a large star, which was moving from the southwest toward the northwest.

This object was seen successively in the Briançon skies, the upper Tarentaise, the Albertville valley, and the Chambéry region. In reality, it was a weather balloon originating from Italy, specifically from the Milan region, and not, as many observers claimed, a strange remote-controlled craft. It was even scheduled for the balloon's scientific instruments to be jettisoned automatically between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.

Indeed, at 4:55 p.m., workers at a construction site in the hamlet of Rozier, in the commune of Val-des-Prés, 15 km northeast of Briançon in the Guisane valley, saw the parachute containing the instruments, retrieved them, and handed them over to the Briançon gendarmerie, which had been alerted to carry out the necessary investigation. The instruments are in excellent condition.

At 7:00 p.m., the balloon continued its journey toward the south-southwest of Gap.

MULTIPLE LUMINOUS OBJECTS

MARSEILLE. -- Two luminous craft flying at high altitude were seen in the skies over Le Rove early in the afternoon. Observers noted that these craft hovered momentarily before resuming their flight.

DRAGUIGNAN. -- Several residents of Draguignan observed near the end of the afternoon a luminous object streaking across the sky at meteor-like speed.

CASABLANCA. -- Workers at the military supply depot in Casablanca reported having seen yesterday afternoon, above the city, a sort of phosphorescent cigar which, after descending slowly like a falling leaf, resumed horizontal flight at breathtaking speed before disappearing.

ANGERS. -- A resident of the village of Méral (Mayenne) reported seeing a bright orange-colored ball in the sky that landed on the ground. The disc, flat and dome-shaped, five to six meters in diameter, emitted a blinding light, illuminating the surroundings for 200 meters.

The craft was transparent, and from the inside, a dark figure could be seen. The disc remained like this for about ten minutes, turned red, and rapidly vanished to the north. The observer then went to the spot where the object had landed. He claimed there was a kind of shiny cloud slowly settling to the ground. Upon arriving home, he noticed his clothes were covered with a white layer of somewhat sticky material, like paraffin [sic].

A KIND OF RUGBY BALL

NIMES. -- Two people saw, last night, as they were returning home a few kilometers north of Nîmes, a greenish glow in a field. They approached and observed the presence of a craft exactly like a rugby ball, apparently resting on struts. The strange object suddenly lifted into the air with a faint noise, gradually taking on an orange hue.

A CRAFT THAT SEEMS TO EXPLODE

GRAULHET. -- A leather dresser from Graulhet reported seeing late in the afternoon, at high altitude, a silver object heading northwest, which he initially mistook for a jet plane. But, seeing no condensation trail, he fetched a pair of binoculars and clearly saw a large flexible disc, undulating on itself while moving at great speed.

Then the craft seemed to explode mid-air. A silver ball, about one meter in diameter, separated from the mass and continued its path, soon disappearing from sight, while the rest of the object fell in several pieces resembling cloths of various sizes floating in the sky, some of which got caught on telegraph wires. About fifteen people witnessed this unusual event, and fragments of material were collected. They appeared as clumped silver filaments that disintegrated when touched.

A YELLOW MASS

MELUN. -- Near Montargis, on national highway number 7, a resident of the city reported seeing a bright yellow mass of rounded shape in the sky.

IN THE AVEYRON AND THE VAUCLUSE

THE "SAUCERS" WERE IN REALITY SOUNDING BALLOONS OF THE ITALIAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

Paris October 15 - The Saucer psychosis continues to develop, bringing more negative elements than positive details. And there is soon not a corner of France that cannot claim to have been flown over by some unknown machine, coming from who knows where.

Aveyron and Lozère have also known the "Saucers" since this morning.

In Rodez, it was at dawn that a mysterious craft which changed shapes and colors several times, could be spotted. It moved in this manner until the stroke of eleven o'clock, to disappear in the direction of the South.

IT WAS SEEN AT DECAZEVILLE AND AT MENDE

We learned in the evening that it was a sounding balloon from the Italian Meteorological Services, from the MILAN Institute. This balloon with a diameter of 28 meters, would be likely to reach an altitude of 50,000 meters. It would include, in its nacelle, devices intended for the study of cosmic rays.

ORANGE AVIATORS ALERTED...

Thursday afternoon, a craft resembling a large star was seen successively in the Briançonnais sky, the Hte-Tarentaise, the valley of Albertville and the region of Chambery.

It was actually a sounding balloon from the Milan region.

Around 5 p.m., workers working on a construction site, about fifteen kilometers from Briançon, recovered the scientific devices from this balloon and handed them over to the Gendarmerie. As for the craft, it continued its route in the direction of Gap, in the evening.

In Avignon, the alert must have been hotter. Around 11 a.m., the secretary of the town hall of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse telephoned the Orange air base to report, among other things, a "Saucer", at the vertical of his town hall. The details were such that the leader of one of the squadrons telephoned the mayor of Fontaine.

The latter, not only confirmed the indications of his secretary, but specified that the Saucer remained motionless 400 meters vertically from the locality.

2 pilots who were taking off for a training flight flew over Fontaine de Vaucluse a few moments later without spotting the slightest Saucer.

In the evening, the Secretary of State for Air indicated that the two airmen from the Orange base, "experienced officers", had not observed any unknown craft during their research and that their report was formal.

It was, again, a sounding balloon, used by the Meteorological Services.

MIDI LIBRE for Saturday OCTOBER 16, 1954 - #3412 -

[...]

The Midi Libre articles reproduced here were sent to us by our friend Daniel Vidal. They illustrate in a precise manner the enormous work of archive research carried out by Daniel. An example to follow that should be taken up systematically in each region.

THE WEB GOES BACK IN TIME

Sunday story: Flying saucer alert!

Every Sunday, the Dauphiné delves into its archives and makes you relive an event from the past. This weekend, back in 1954, when the South East saw aliens everywhere...

By Sylvaine ROMANAZ - August 11, 2019 at 06:05 - updated on Apr 18, 2020 at 11:07 - Reading time: 4 min

In public gardens, on café terraces, on sidewalks, thousands of motionless people staring up at the sky. On this October 14, 1954, alert in Grenoble: a flying saucer crosses the sky. No doubt for the most informed, the Martians are coming!

In the afternoon, the switchboard of the Dauphiné Libéré is overwhelmed by calls. And at 6 p.m., at the exit of the factories and offices, the crowd increases again in the streets. "But I'm telling you it's a weather balloon!" a passerby shouts. Wasted effort. Not one convinced witness.

Better still, the collective hallucination of the Grenoblois spreads. From Chambéry to Gap, from Fontaine-de-Vaucluse to Faucigny, same stories. "A large vertical cigar" for some, flaming red or green and gray, orange or shiny, an unidentified object travels the South-East.

In Fontaine de Vaucluse, the case is growing. This white disc which hovers above the city, here is something strange nevertheless... The witnesses who observe it with binoculars go there for their details: the disc is surmounted by a spherical cap, and looks like a silver bowler hat. And to describe in the Dauphiné Libéré, a "lower circular border which intermittently carries powerful lights, varying from white to purplish through red". The object begins to intrigue so much that around 2 p.m., two jet planes take off from Caritat air base. But the "saucer" goes too fast, and disappears in the sky ..

So, Martians or not Martians? The answer comes very down to earth... from the prefecture of the Isère. They receive a message from a Mr. Polvani, director of the Institute of Physics in Milan: "We are asking for assistance in identifying and recovering a stratospheric balloon loaded with scientific material, passed in France." The device is intended for studying cosmic rays. End of the craze? Not at all.

Because the scientists are offering a bonus of 20,000 francs to anyone who will help recover the balloon by calling "Odéon 99-17". What push everyone to scan the sky again and again. Moreover in Grenoble, on the airfield, specialists try to locate it and estimate its height when the object passes over their heads.

It is hard to miss, the ball is 28 meters in diameter and weighs 110 kilos. Being able to climb up to 33,000 m, it is however very difficult to chase...

The Grenoblois hardly look up that it is at Bourg-Saint-Maurice or Modane, then further in the Ubaye, that the gendarmes are alerted by citizens more or less frightened, more or less curious. And when everyone begins to agree with to the scientific explanation, blam, a second craft is seen simultaneously. This time the witnesses rather report a "ball of fire". But still no Martians. The Saint-Michel observatory near Digne is formal, that's a meteor. And for the first one, same certainty, it is a balloon.

Yet two appearances at the same time is too suspicious for many minds. So the tongues are loosened. And one cross-checks all the testimonies from the four corners of the country.

In the Dombes it is an insurance salesman who remembers having seen "a very short machine which descended slowly." In Moulins, it is a teacher and his class who saw in a field "a metallic-looking craft" with around it "three shapes which seemed to be the passengers of this apparatus." What do aliens look like? "An almost normal human trunk with two arms ending in a hook. A single leg ending in a spherical base". And the head? "Conical with three eyes in a triangle". As for the clothes, one of the children was very precise: they wore the same leather jacket as Louison Bobet! No need to ask us for the photo, this invasion has never been immortalized. Martians are not photogenic enough or too shy...

More timid in any case than the witnesses who throughout the 50's and 60's seem happy to be filmed or to be questioned by journalists to describe what they saw...

So many stories that snowballed to the point that the debate eventually reached the Assembly. Ignoring the scientific balloon (which continued its route in the Rhone valley, in particular above Crest then the Ardèche), the deputy of Ariège Mr. Dejean addressed a question to the President of the Council to know whether "a service was created in charge of gathering the existing documentation and studying the nature and origin of the said devices." Service that exists today.

The Geipan is very officially responsible for looking into unidentified aerospace phenomena. If during your Sunday walk the aliens say hi to you, you can contact them. Be careful though. In October 1954, workers at a construction site near Naples said loud and clear: seeing a saucer could be dangerous. The Pekingese dog who was with them at the time of the apparition looked at the saucer, barked... and fell dead.