The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Sep-54-Charleville-Mezières.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper L'Ardennais, of Charleville-Mézières, France, published on page 1 of their October 1, 1954, issue, a reminder of the hoax in Omont, and "pending a real saucer photograph", a photomontage presented as such, by one of their photographers, apparently a reflection of a ceiling lamp on a window.
The article was published in 2003 without the photo by the "skeptical" ufologist Renaud Leclet in the CNEGU magazine; the photomontage then appeared in the catalog of 1954 alleged UFO photos by the Spanish ufologist Juan-Vicente Ballester-Olmos. Unfortunately, he obtained only a low resolution "scan":
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A German ufology database on the web then notes the case, with no information, no source, no explanation, giving only the date and place.
[Ref. rlt1:] RENAUD LECLET:
Renaut Leclet published a compilation of articles from the newspaper L'Ardennais of 1954 about the "flying saucers"; including this extract from this newspaper for Friday, October 1, 1954, on page 1:
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Flying saucer in the Ardennes sky (PHOTO with the caption below)
Fashion is in flying saucers. We published the information announcing the appearance of a mysterious machine in Omont, then the statements of the "witness" stating that all this was just a joke. Nevertheless, in the region of Omont, one is persuaded "that there is some truth in there"... While waiting to really grasp a "saucer" in his lens, our reporter photographer realized this "montage": the ceiling lamp of the justice of peace room, in Charleville, sailing in the sky of Mézières. (Photos and snapshots "L'Ardennais")
Note: the photomontage talked about was not reproduced by Renaud Leclet.
[Ref. jbs1:] JUAN-VICENTE BALLESTER-OLMOS:
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(60)
Date: 1 October 1954
Time: Unknown
Location: Charleville, Ardennes (France)
Format: Picture
Photographer: Staff photographer of L'Ardennais
Explanation: Photo montage made by the newspaper to illustrate the news of a UFO sighting.
References: L'Ardennais, October 1, 1954, in Renaud Leclet, Mystères de L'Est, 8, 2000 [actually 2003], pages 49-50. Gilles Munsch.
Remarks: Nil
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541001 | 01.10.1954 | Charlesville | France |
[Ref. jbo2:] JUAN-VICENTE BALLESTER OLMOS:
| Date | Approx | UFO | Nation | Photo Film | Media | Duration | Blue Book | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-01-1954 | Fake, journalistic | OK | Charleville, Ardennes (France) | FRA | 69 | PHOTO | staff photographer | L'Ardennais | L'Ardennais, October 1, 1954, in Renaud Leclet, Les Mystères de L'Est, 8, 2000, pp 49-50 | October 1, 1954 |
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Negative case, photomontage presented as such.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Charleville-Mezières, Ardennes, photo, photo editing, photomontage
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 10, 2016 | First published, [jbs1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 10, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 18, 2019 | Addition [rlt1]. Summary rewritten, was "The regional newspaper L'Ardennais, of Charleville-Mézières, France, had apparently illustrated in their October 1, 1954, the news of an observation by a photomontage made by their staff. This comes from a "skeptical" publication of 2000, Les Mystères de l'Est, where this information appeared, with an indistinct version of the photograph in question, and no information about the sighting which had prompted the newspaper to make this photomontage." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | November 5, 2021 | Addition [jbo2]. |
