The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 29-Sep-54-Langres.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper La Bourgogne Républicaine, of Dijon, reported on page 6 for October 1, 1954, via their press correspondent, that Mr. Michel Japiot, 26, mechanic at the Choisel garage in Langres, stated he has seen "the day before last night" thus on September 29, 1954, around 7:15 p.m., as he was leaving his work, "a luminous object which moved in the sky", flying very quickly from east to west.
The newspaper added that several residents of Langres had confirmed Mr. Japiot's statements.
In 1993, in the UFO magazine UFOmania No. 1, its editor Didier Gomez reported an old testimony that he had received by telephone on March 14, 1993.
The witness, "Mr. Japiot" - evidently the witness of this case - was, however, mistaken about the date, since the magazine indicated "Feb 1954."
The testimony stated that between midnight and one in the morning, between Langres and Vesoul, Mr. Japiot, a trained auto electrician, had been called to repair a vehicle that had broken down on the N19-ES4, a few kilometers from Langres. Upon arriving at the scene and beginning to repair the vehicle, his attention was suddenly drawn by a faint whistling sound coming from the sky.
Looking up, he saw six disc-shaped, luminous white objects topped with a dome, following one another at regular intervals at a speed he estimated between 200 and 300 km/h.
These "fairly large" objects were all surrounded by an orange luminous ring.
He observed them for a few moments, or "a few minutes."
The magazine noted that this event had been reported at the time in the newspaper La Haute-Marne Libérée, and that following this sighting, Mr. Japiot became interested in the UFO phenomenon through reading books.
[Ref. bre1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":
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Nevers (from our P.C.). -- A flying saucer was seen the other night in the sky of the Nivernais. It was 11 p.m., Mr. Raymond Deloire, 20, farm worker in Langeron, was riding his bicycle on the road to Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier when, looking up, he saw "something weird" in the sky, according to his own expression, and which was moving rapidly in a northeast direction. Mr. Raymond Deloire turned back, but was able to realize that the object was a kind of rounded and even semi-spherical disc.
It emitted a vivid orange glow, while a reddish light fluttered in the back.
The craft flew horizontally and its course in the sky of the Nivernais lasted from five to seven seconds.
A little scared, the young man rushed home and warned his brother, the rural guard, of what he had just seen. Questioned a few hours later, Raymond Deloire swore that he had actually seen this craft cross the sky of the Nivernais and that the description made was the very expression of the truth.
Langres (from our C.P.). -- Mr. Michel Japiot, 26, mechanic at the Choisel garage in Langres said he saw the night before yesterday around 7:15 p.m. as he was leaving his work, a luminous object moving in the sky. This craft flew very quickly from east to west. Several residents of Langres confirmed Mr. Japiot's statements.
[Ref. ufa1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "UFOMANIA":
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Here is a testimony that is not from yesterday. The important thing is that this case is known, "better late than never."
Investigation conducted by telephone on 03/14/93.
Date: Feb 1954 Time: between Midnight and 1:00 a.m.
Location: N19-ES4 between Langres (52) and Vesoul (71)
Identity: Mr. Japiot
Duration: a few minutes (2 to 3 min)
Summary: auto-electrician by training, Mr. Japiot was called around midnight to perform a roadside repair on the N19-E54. Upon arrival, he observed for a few moments in the sky the passage of six objects following each other at an estimated speed of 200 to 300 km/h.
The events:
That evening, Mr. Japiot had already finished his work when he was called late to perform a repair on a vehicle immobilized on the N19-ES4 a few km from Langres. He went to the site quickly. While beginning to repair the vehicle, his attention was suddenly drawn to a faint whistling coming from the sky. He then looked up and saw six disc-shaped white luminous objects topped with a dome, following each other at regular intervals at a speed he estimated between 200 and 300 km/h. The objects, "quite large," were all surrounded by an orange luminous ring. It should be noted that this event was reported in the press at the time in "La Haute-Marne Libérée." Following this observation, the witness himself became interested in the phenomenon by reading books.
Note: This phenomenon strongly resembles a similar case filmed in the United States and broadcast by TF1 under the title: "Extraterrestrials, a Reality?" UFO No. 1 (TF1 Video).
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Possibly the meteor or that day.
I note that the original version in 1954 and the 1993 version are completely different regarding the description of the phenomenon. A deeper investigation of this matter would have been necessary.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Langres, Haute-Marne, Japiot, multiple, luminous, object, fast, discs, contradictions, memory, dome, circle, white, luminous
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 6, 2021 | First published, [bre1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 17, 2025 | Addition [ufa1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [ufa1]. In the Explanations, addition of the paragraph "I note that the original version..." |
