The 1954 French flap:

THE SAUCER COURIER (CONTINUED)

An unknown craft gets stationnary at 2 m. of the ground and 100 m of a farmer of Entraigues

A farm labourer also saw the object

Entraigues (C.P.).

Mr. Louis Ollier, farmer in Entraigues, worked, Thursday after midday, in his field, in the district of Malgouverte, with tractor, when, between 17 and 18 hours, he saw a craft appear which seemed to him to have the shape of a lengthened spindle, "which colors, he says, "were clearly those of the rainbow ". The machine, which seemed 8 meters long approximately, was immobilized at a hundred meters of him and at less than two meters of the ground.

Mr. Ollier called a neighbor, domestic at Mr. Poutrot's, who worked not far from there and who also saw the apparatus rising quickly and to move towards Ventoux. They realized at this time that what they had taken for a lengthened spindle was an appreciably circular object. The object besides disappeared quickly.

Metz, Saint-Malo and Issoire overflown by "luminous discs"

Paris (A.C.P.)

The flying saucers once more honoured of their presence the most various areas of France: in Metz, in Saint-Malo, Issoire, the mysterious machines have been seen.

* * *

In Metz, Mr. Hellers claimed to have seen Saturday evening around 09:25 p.m., a luminous machine of oblong form that crossed the sky from East to West at a vertiginous speed. The object, of orange color and the size of a hen egg, slipped silently into space while leaving behind itself an incandescent trail. The witness evaluated the speed of this machine with approximately ten times that of a jet.

This testimony was confirmed by a sentinel of the air police station in faction on the height of Plappeville in the suburbs of Metz.

* * *

In the Ille-et-Vilaine, in Paramé, a plasterer stated to have seen Saturday evening, around 07:45 p.m., two luminous discs which went up and went down in the sky at an extraordinary speed. A third luminous disc seemed to follow a line parallel to the horizon, at a much slower pace than the two others. The discs, while moving away, left behind them a tail similar to that of a comet.

* * *

Lastly, the personnel of the airfield of Issoire-le-Broc and the chief pilot Hebaut, which was in flight, observed a shining craft of circular form which hovered during nearly two hours at very high altitude before moving very slowly towards the West.

Near Chauny

Believing to be in the presence of a "Martian"

A FARMER FIRED
two gunshots at a neighbor

LILLE, October 17. - Mr. Maurice Ruant, farmer in Sinceny, near Chauny (Aisne), almost fell victim to the panic that is caused to some people by the appearance of saucers and other flying objects.

Friday evening, he was busy repairing his car, in a meadow near his home, when two shots from a hunting rifle were fired in his direction. The pellets crashed onto the vehicle body, not far from its head.

Mr. Maurice Ruant complained and the investigation immediately opened made it possible to quickly find the author of the shots, who was a neighbor of Mr. Ruant, Mr. Faisan.

The latter told the police.

"I thought, seeing a silhouette moving in the light of two headlights, that I was in the presence of a Martian repairing his flying saucer. I went to get my shotgun and I fired."

Despite his good faith, Mr. Ruant will be prosecuted.

Cigars and saucers

The flying saucers once again honored of their presence the most diverse regions of France: in Metz, in Saint-Malo, in Issoire, in particular, mysterious craft have been seen.

In Metz, Mr. Hellers claimed to have seen an oblong luminous craft cross the sky from East to West at breakneck speed. The object, orange in color and the size of a chicken egg, glided silently through space, leaving behind an incandescent trail. The witness estimated the speed of this craft to be approximately ten times that of a jet plane.

This testimony was confirmed by an air police station sentry on the height of Plappeville, in the suburbs of Metz.

In the Ille-et-Vilaine, in Paramé, a plasterer, said he saw two luminous discs going up and down in the sky at an extraordinary speed. A third luminous disc seemed to follow a line parallel to the horizon, at a much slower pace than the other two. The discs, moving away, left behind a tail like that of a comet.

Finally, the staff of the Issoire-le-Broc airfield and the chief pilot Hébaut, who was in flight, observed a brilliant craft of circular shape which hovered during nearly two hours at very high altitude before moving slowly towards the West.

The opinion of an Italian scientist

ROME, October 17. - Many Italians having observed "disks", "saucers", "cigars" etc... flying in the sky of the peninsula, the "Giornale d'Italia" interviewed professor Antonio Eula, holder of the aerodynamics chair at the University of Rome.

This eminent scientist about the possible origin of the so-called spacecraft from other planets, said in particular: "We do not fully know the mysteries of our solar system. Astronautics, when it can be put in practical use, will perhaps allow us to penetrate them. But we already know that beings similar to us cannot exist on the currently known planets. If they exist, they can only be profoundly different. Thus is it absurd to speak of Martians capable of human-like activities."

In response to another question, Professor Eula said he did not believe he was authorized to exclude, in an absolute manner, that it could be "experimental craft intended for military use, and protected by an impenetrable secret." In conclusion, the professor said: "If this last hypothesis corresponds to reality, the time will come when their secret will be revealed, because no secret of a technical nature can be preserved indefinitely."

THE SAUCERS CONTINUE
TO PASSIONATE THE OPINION

... and the carousel continues

Contrary to what happened last week, the "flying saucers" did not respect the Sunday rest and showed themselves everywhere, say many testimonies, in Italy, in France where a motorist, mistaken for a Martian, narrowly avoided a discharge of buckshot. It was a farmer from Sinceny, near Chauny, in Aisne, Mr. Maurice Ruant, who almost fell victim to this unfortunate mistake.

He was busy, late in the evening, troubleshooting his car in a meadow near his home when two shots from a shotgun were fired in his direction. The pellets crashed into the body of the vehicle, not far from the head of Mr. Ruant, who lodged a complaint.

The investigation established that the author of these shots was a neighbor, Mr. Faisan, who declared, protesting of his good faith: "I believed, seeing a figure moving in the light of two headlights, being in the presence of a Martian repairing his flying saucer. I went to get my rifle, and, I fired."

To this incident, which annoyingly illustrates the psychosis of fear created in certain quarters by the "saucers", we must add the many reports indicating these in: Rome, where, it is said, a flying cigar was seen by many inhabitants of the St Jean de Latran district; Metz, where a witness saw his statements confirmed by a sentry at the air police station, at Paramé, in the Ile-et-Vilaine [sic], at the Mont Ventoux observatory, at the Issoire-le-Broc airfield where the observation of a saucer was made, one says, for almost two hours by ground staff and Chief Pilot Habau [sic], who was in flight.

Finally, again in Italy, reports of saucers have come from Varese, near Milan, Turin and Messina.

For Professor Antonio Eula, holder of the aerodynamics department at the University of Rome, "saucers" cannot be piloted by Martians.

"We do not know the mysteries of our solar system thoroughly, he told "Giornale d'Italia." Astronautics when it can be put into practice, will perhaps allow us to penetrate them "But we already know that beings similar to us cannot exist on the planets currently known. If there are, they can only be profoundly different. So it is absurd to speak of Martians capable of human activity."

In response to another question, Professor Eula said, he does not believe he is authorized to exclude, absolutely, that they can be "experimental devices intended for military use, and protected by impenetrable secrecy." In conclusion the professor declared: "If this last assumption corresponds to reality, the moment will come when the secret will be revealed, because no secret of a technical nature can be preserved indefinitely."

[... other cases...]

But simultaneously [as in Dijon on October 16, 1954] people saw it at Hurecourt in Haute Saone, that is to say at a point several dozen miles to the right of the trajectory outlined by the preceding sightings, and even at Metz and Plappeville, some 100 miles to the right. Instead of talking of disks, the witnesses evoked a very elongated form.

[... other cases...]

The French Air Force Inquiry Commission, after studying the case [of the October 16, 1954 sightings in the night], concluded that the object was a "slow meteor." The Commission did not take into account the change of direction of the last Paris sighting. To the several witnesses who saw the UFO halt in the sky, the Commission answered: "Optical Illusion," and since this time differentials reported suggested a meteor traveling at an impossibly slow speed (2400 miles per hour), the Commission supposed that the witnesses' watches had broken.

[... other cases...]

October 16 [1954]

09:30 p.m. (approximately): Center-East and East of France, Orly (Seine), Metz (Moselle), Montmirey (Jura), Hurecourt (Hte.Saône), Mailly-la-Ville (8 km 500 SSW. Vermenton--Yonne), Moulin? (Allier),: big luminous ball with a tail (slow meteor, speed=3.000 km/h?)

THE TEST OF THE METEOR. October 16, as if it was purposely, a splendid meteor crossed the north of France towards 09:30 p.m.. It was observed on a score of departments by thousands of people, from the Allier to Lorraine and from the Swiss border to Paris. Naturally many witnesses believed to have seen a Flying Saucer and said so. The newspapers printed "Flying Saucer in Orly", or "in Montididier", or "in Metz." But once again the description made by all these weak brains appeared of a remarkable honesty.

[...]

The innumerable gathered testimonys show indeed that even when the witnesses called "Flying saucer" the observed object, their description is identical on 200.000 square kilometres where the visible phenomenon was visible: an "orange ball followed by a trail", a "large luminous ball with a tail", a "flying egg followed by a trail", a "bottle's bottom with a trail of thirty times its diameter", etc. The same phenomenon is uniformly described.

[...]