The 1954 French flap:

In the manner of Wells heroes

A farmer in the Vienne saw advancing towards him an interplanetary diver

In the Lyonese, a Parisian filmed a "flying cigar"

Châtellerault, September 29 -. Mr. Yves David, 28-year-old, farmer in Broudoux, community of Verneuil-sur-Vienna, stated to have seen advancing towards him, on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 19 at 10 p.m., a kind of diver.

The latter, he says, came to caress his arm, emitted unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (that Mr. David cannot describe). A green beam of light was projected in his direction, nailing him on the spot, then the machine disappeared in the sky vertically, without any noise. Mr. David states that initially he did not want to tell anything of this weird encounter for fear of ridicule. He however informed a friend of his, asking him whether other people had seen the "diver". That's how the country knew about it.

Air carrousel in the Lyonese

Lyon, September 29. -- Between September 15 and 20, several people in the Lyons area, announced to have seen flying saucers. A 15-year-old young man, Mr. Roland M... says: "On the 15th at approximately 11 p.m., I was within approximately 200 meters of the fort of Feyzin (the Isère) when my attention was caught by a white light. I was then amazed to see, detached in the sky, ten meters above the ground, a dark spot from where a sharp light similar to the combustion of a magnesium spot emerged."

The black "shape" seemed slightly elliptic.

Arrived at about fifty meters of this "space ship", I was amazed to hear a deaf noise like that of a wet rocket, I even saw at the same time a shower of sparks spout out of the lower part of the craft. Then all of a sudden, like a rocket, it rose at a tremendous speed, perhaps 4000 or 5000 km/h." In addition, residents of Chaudelas [sic] (the Ardeche) saw on September 17 in the sky, a craft of the shape of a torpedo with the front more luminous than the rest. Was it of an aerolith or an interplanetary apparatus? It will never be known. Lastly, in Lyons, Mrs. J T... indicates that on the 18th at 3:55 a.m., she saw a craft which went back in the sky vertically at a vertiginous pace.

Another testimony, perhaps the most important, was provided to us by Mr. René Valery, artistic director of the Olympia in Paris. Mr. Valery was in Lyon and he stated to us that he had, as well as his wife, sighted a curious "cigar" whereas they were, on Thursday 16, in Savigny, in the Rhone. "It was approximately 6 p.m., he told us. We were walking, when we saw a craft at approximately 700 or 800 m of altitude. It went up vertically without the least engine noise."

Behind it, it left a broad trail of white smoke. It could not be a matter, in my opinion, he still told us, of a jet plane, I would have heard the whistling sound, because of the proximity of the machine. Moreover, this cigar had by no means the shape of a jet."

Mr. Valery, who does not seem to be able to admit, in spite of the testimony of his senses, that he saw a flying saucer, was carrying an 8 mm movie camera. He hastened to film the evolutions of the aerial object.

Perhaps he will know Thursday, while going to get his developed film, if he were as well as his wife, the subject of an hallucination or if, on the contrary, it was really of one of these famous saucers. He waits for Thursday without impatience, the more so as the visibility was not very good and that he fears to have perhaps missed his "saucer".

Let us add that the saucers are not an invention of our century. Indeed, an extract of the memories of the Emulation society of the Jura, for 1864, under the title "Flaming globes" reports the following lines:

"On January 20, 1859 at 04:35 a.m., by a rather strong rain, but a calm and a very black night, the atmosphere was suddenly illuminated by a very bright white light which made it possible to distinguish from far away the objects with a great accuracy. This light was due to a luminous sphere slipping through space from the south to the north, at a great speed. Large numbers of people who, frightened, left their house, believed in a fire. This phenomenon was seen from Lyon to Strasbourg." [Perfect description of a meteor.]

Four other observations of this kind, but less remarkable, are noted on the registers at the following dates: January 10, 1847, November 13 and 17, 1848, and August 11, 1850.

"They must be distinguished from the incandescent spheres which are seen during storms [ball lightning], since their appearance always takes place by a calm weather, without detonation and giving a sharp light."

At the sight of a flying saucer, a locomotive driver falls sick.

MM. Gérard, mechanic and Paroux, driver, who led a wildcat locomotive engine, coming from Nantes, saw yesterday evening, whereas they passed by the location "La Butte Rouge", community of St Nicolas-de-Redon (the Ille and Vilaine), a machine which rose from nearby marshes. This machine, of a certain length, which was followed of a luminous trail, flew during ten seconds above the locomotive and disappeared in the sky. Whereas the mechanic kept his cool, the driver on the other hand, was so frightened that he fell sick and had to undergo a medical examination this morning.

September 18, [1954]

03:55 a.m.: Lyon (Rhône)