The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 16-Sep-54-Bois-Grenier.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Nord-Eclair, of Roubaix, reported on September 18, 1954, that on Thursday - so on September 16, 1954 - at the end of the evening, an alleged Mr. Leroy, of Bois-Grenier, told them by phone that a flying saucer had landed in the Dufour meadow, adding that he had notified the gendarmerie.
But instead of rushing to the place, the newspaper made a phone call to the gendarmerie, which revealed the hoax.
[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":
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This was to be expected. The flying saucer affair was to be joked about. Some with a slightly inappropriate taste. Thursday, late in the evening, an alleged Mr. Leroy, from Bois-Grenier, informed us by phone that a flying saucer had landed in the Dufour meadow. He said he had notified the gendarmerie. In his naive candor, this volunteer correspondent believed that immediately we were going to jump on the spot. Perhaps he waited for us behind the hedge of the meadow to mock our disappointment. But he just spent his telephone costs for nothing. A phone call to the gendarmerie, whose PR agent didn't seem to be happy with the inconvenience, revealed the deception.
A similar story happened near Amiens:
The flying saucer of Estrées-Deniécourt was, in fact, only a joke of some electricians from a company who admitted that they wanted to have fun at the expense of the press and the gendarmerie.
A formal report was type for contempt of court and a report was sent to the public prosecutor of Amiens.
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Negative case, failed prank.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Bois-Grenier, Nord, Leroy, prank, invention, landing, saucer, meadow, evening
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 22, 2020 | First published. |
