The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 27-Sep-54-Vallauris.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Patriote de Nice et du Sud-Est for October 3, 1954, with the headline: "They're having fun in Vallauris..." reported that a Mr. Julien Bellon had seen a strange phenomenon in the sky over Vallauris, "this Monday evening," thus September 27, 1954, around 6 p.m.
The newspaper stated that he hadn't spoken to anyone about it, "fearing he would be thought infected by the contagious madness of flying saucers and other similarly gifted craft which, at the moment, are troubling the minds of many people."
The newspaper nonetheless claimed that the story spread in the neighborhood, and it was found that four people had seen the strange phenomena, one speaking of a flying cigar, another of a white trail like that left by a slug, another of a craft shaped like a star - or more exactly like a stain made by a liquid - and the last "speaking quite simply... of a jet aircraft," which was reportedly confirmed "by statements from airport staff."
[Ref. pdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PATRIOTE DE NICE ET DU SUD-EST":
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"Ah! This time, I saw it, the flying cigar!..."
These were the words with which Mme. Dubiton greeted her neighbor, Mr. Julien Bellon, who had come to visit her. He feigned surprise, but inwardly felt reassured, for he too had just seen a strange phenomenon in the sky over Vallauris that Monday evening, around 6 p.m. He hadn't said a word to anyone, fearing he'd be thought to have caught the contagious madness of flying saucers and other such contraptions that are currently disturbing the minds of many people.
The neighborhood started talking, and it turned out that four people had seen the strange phenomena. Opinions were compared, but each person had a different interpretation of what they had seen. One spoke of a flying cigar, another of a white trail like that left by a slug, another of a star-shaped object — or more precisely, a stain made by some liquid — and the last simply described... a jet plane. This was, in fact, confirmed by statements from airport personnel.
The testimonies of these well-meaning individuals, who kindly received us in Vallauris, are not the only ones. Reports are coming in from all over. For example, in Gonfaron, some women in the village square claimed to have seen, in the sky at medium altitude, a flying donkey. In this region, we're quite willing to accept the possibility of such a craft!
Unconsciously, everyone seems to be playing a version of "pigeon flies", except now it's "hat flies", "pot flies", "donkey flies" — and to that we add "saucer flies", "cigar flies". With imagination having no limits, it won't be long before other objects gain the power to freely cruise through our beautiful blue skies.
Perhaps one day soon we'll have the pleasure of seeing one of these contraptions land in Place Masséna! We'd be thrilled to interview its occupants — and in gratitude, maybe they'd make a little room for us inside their craft? But smoking cigars inside will be strictly forbidden.
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Le Patriote de Nice et du Sud-Est was the Communist Party's regional newspaper, and, in line with the party's position, it was hostile to the topic of "flying saucers." It is therefore not surprising that the report seems to show little concern for precision or clear description.
It is entirely possible that there was indeed a sighting on September 27, 1954, around 6 p.m. in Vallauris; which could have been a jet aircraft. However, doubt is warranted, as the newspaper had published several questionable or entirely false stories, with the obvious goal of discrediting the phenomenon.
Here, for instance, we are told about a jet aircraft, according to "the airport." The airport would presumably be the one in Nice, but since a jet aircraft at that time would likely have been military, it should have been a military air base providing such confirmation.
According to INSEE statistics, there was no one named Dubiton in the Alpes-Maritimes in 1954, though there were indeed people named "Bellon."
At this stage, I would assess this report as unreliable, possibly to have involved an actual jet aircraft, given the description of a trail and the lack of known meteor observations in the region at that time.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Vallauris, Alpes-Maritimes, Julien Bellon, cigar, jet, trace, trail, multiple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 4, 2025 | First published. |
