The 1954 French flap:

The seven workers of the quarry of Marcilly-sur-Vienne told us their strange adventure

The seven concordant testimonies of the workers of a quarry in Marcilly-sur-Vienne who, on Thursday, around 4:30 p.m., saw near them a mysterious craft and its passenger, intrigued the people of the region.

We were able to interview Mr. Georges Gatey, chief of the building site and main witness of the event, as well as his six comrades.

We report the impression that these men are sincere and trustworthy. Their statements, they confirmed them Friday and Saturday to professional investigators who did not fail, in their turn, to be impressed by the emphasis of sincerity of the witnesses.

Mr. Gatey and his five workers were busy pulling sand and gravel from a quarry near the road near Marcilly. Everyone was at his workplace, some with a mechanical shovel, others with a hoist. Mr. Gatey was on the sidelines, closer to the end of the quarry. He was the first to see the machine, a device of circular shape surmounted by a dome, apparently equipped with blades similar to those of a helicopter.

The machine was standing motionless one meter from the ground, the blades turning very rapidly. It did not land on the ground.

A man of small size, 1.50 m to 1.55 m approximately

Wearing a helmet of opaque material on the head, resembling scrambled glass, dressed in a combination of neutral tone, booted with booties, it stood next to it. He had in his hand a kind of big revolver or a pipe, and on the chest a very brilliant disc, emitting a jet of intense light.

No one in the quarry, which lies below several meters from the road and the surrounding grounds, had seen the apparatus arrive and no one heard it. Everyone was busy at work and the machines that worked at the same time were very noisy.

Mr. Gatey is formal: the machine remained there for a half minute, enough time to be able to examine it. The site supervisor is an excellent draftsman. His first reflex, after his astonishment, was to run to the tent of the site to get a paper, a pencil and draw the sketch of

The saucers Courier...

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the extraordinary machine and its occupant.

My legs were cut

"But my legs were cut," he said, "and I could not take a step, nailed to the ground certainly by the effects of the luminous ray emitted by the man.

Mr. Gatey was at that moment about fifteen meters from the craft and two meters below. He saw it from below. The machine, it should be pointed out, was at the entrance of the quarry, on the edge of the excavation, 3 meters from the road. On this road came a truck which came to get a load at the quarry, driven by M. Amirault, who saw the quarry men look towards the entrance of the shipyard, and he also looked. He saw "something gray" that was not there usually. This thing rose in the air.

That's it

Mr. Gatey also told us: "The man climbed back into his craft without I being able to tell by where, and then the craft rose vertically in jerks and a noise like the jet engines Of fighter planes. At 200 meters of altitude, roughly, it emitted a fog that completely concealed it and disappeared before our eyes."

"That's it," said the other witnesses of the scene.

Moved to the vicinity of fear, then men tacitly shut up about their adventure of the afternoon when in the evening they found themselves in the small restaurant of Parçay-aux-Vienne where they take their meal.

It was not until much later, around 7:30 p.m. or 20 p.m., that they decided to speak.

Alone, I would not have said anything

"If I had been been alone, I would never have said anything about it," said Mr. Gatey, for fear of being the laughing stock of the country.

The site supervisor had gone to the edge of the quarry to see whether the craft had left any traces. He hoped to find some burned grass but there was nothing like it, only the grass soiled and trampled by trucks.

The 7 men, 6 of them at least being 30 years old, are sympathetically known in the area where they have been working for some time and there is no reason to suppose that they have attempted to set up a huge joke. Mr. Gatey drew from memory the silhouette of the craft and its passenger.

His comrades, MM. René Rougier, André Beurrois, André Sèche, Georges Lubanowich and Maurice Dubrocs, in the presence of the sketch, affirmed: "It is this shape that the apparatus in question had." The craft could measure 4 m. 50 in diameter and 2 meters in thickness. It was gray.

In [?] of Bressuire

[Missing part]

[en]terprise Goursault of Melle, came back to start their air compressor.

In the Indre

Châteauroux, 3. - Mrs. widow Janiki, residing in the village of Le Cerisier, commune of Levroux (Indre), told the Gendarmerie that she had seen in the sky a luminous machine with a diameter of about 3 meters and which Was at the height of the buildings.

Ms. widow Lacotte witnessed the same phenomenon.

Mrs. Baron of Vatan (the Indre), said she saw last night a luminous ball in the sky.

She alerted her husband, as well as about fifteen people from her neighborhood, all of whom saw the yellow-greenish craft rising and falling in the sky at a very high altitude.

In the Nièvre

Nevers, 3. -- A representative of an insurance company in Clamecy and several residents of Corbigny said they saw an orange luminous disc moving in the sky.

SAINT BRIEUC

Several people claimed to have seen, at 300 or 400 meters from them, last night, around 8:45 p.m., a "flying cigar", at an altitude of about 50 meters.

LILLE

Mr. Anicet Corneille, an agricultural worker, said he saw a cigar-shaped craft 8 to 10 meters long by 3 meters in thickness last night in Comines; which evolved at about forty meters in height and emitted a sharp violet glow.

MONTCEAU-LES-MINES

Two bricklayers, MM. Romain Sebastiani and Buratto, both cyclist racers, said they saw a craft take off with a shrill whistle along the road from Blanzy to Montceau.

A written question to the Minister of the Air

In a written question, Mr. Jean Nocher, Deputy for the Loire, informed the Secretary of the Air about the emotion aroused in the public by the numerous and various testimonies concerning the "flying saucers".

He asked him "if his predecessors in the Secretary of State for the Air had been concerned, as in the US and U.S.S.R., to open an investigation about the presence in our atmosphere of unidentified flying objects?

"If so, he asks him to publish the results of these investigations, if not, he asks him to set up a committee widely extended to all the scientific branches concerned in order to study this phenomenon objectively."

"Flying saucers exist"
a German scientist asserts

Flying saucers exist and represent at least 10 percent of the craft observed in the sky, Professor Hermann Oberth, German rocket specialist, and honorary president of the "German Astronautical Society", just declared during a lecture in Hamburg.

According to this scientist, it is possible that these craft are guided by crews of creatures similar to humans, but probably several thousand years ahead of our time.

To explain why a flying saucer has not yet crashed to earth, Professor Oberth suggests that pilots may have perfect mastery of their apparatuses and may not desire any contact with earthly creatures.

Considering another possibility, Professor Oberth recalled that the saucers observed could be considered as an improvement of the V-7, German rockets from the end of the war, of which several prototypes would have fallen, according to them, in Russian hands in 1945.

* * *

The passing of flying "saucers" or "cigars" is reported almost everywhere in the skies of France.

Mr. Anicet Corneille, agricultural worker, declared to have seen Friday evening, in Comines, a machine having the shape of a cigar, 8 to 10 meters in length and three meters in width, which moved at about forty meters height and gave off a bright purple glow, after flying over the city for a few seconds.

These statements were confirmed by a motorist from Tourcoing passing through Comines.

Mrs. widow Janiki, residing in the village of Le Cerisier, commune of Levrous (Indre) warned the gendarmerie that she had seen in the sky a luminous craft with a diameter of about 3 meters and which was at the height of the buildings.

Widow Lacotte, living about 800 meters from Ms. Janiki's home, said she witnessed the same phenomenon.

An employee of the slaughterhouse, Mr. Angelo Girardeau, 53, living in Breuil-Chaussée (Deux-Sèvres), who, Sunday morning, went to his work reportedly saw a circular craft near which there was a being who appeared to him dressed in a diving suit. That being moved towards M. Girardeau who, frightened, fled. Shortly after, the circular craft set off again at very high speed.

Two young people from Vron (Somme) said they saw on the national road, between Crécy and Ligescourt, a curious machine around which prowled oddly shaped individuals. They approached the craft, resembling a haystack, but the craft took off.

The two young people told their adventure to the gendarmes.

The saucer seen by roadmenders along the road to Coulommiers only existed in their imagination.

Written question

In a written question, Mr. Jean Nocher, deputy for the Loire, told the Secretary of State for Air of the emotion aroused in the public by the many and various testimonies concerning the "flying saucers".

He asks him "whether his predecessors at the Secretary of State for the Air had been concerned, as in the United States and the U.S.S.R. for many years, to open an investigation into the presence in our atmosphere of unidentified flying objects.

If so, he asks him for the publishable results of his investigations; if not, he asks him to constitute a Commission broadly extended to all the scientific branches concerned in order to objectively study this phenomenon by freeing the truth from the errors or possible mystifications."

Says German rocket specialist

Unknown humans:

THE URANIDS!

Hamburg, 4. -- Flying saucers exist and represent at least ten percent of the objects observed in the sky, said professor Hermann Oberth, German rocket scientist and honorary president of the "German Astronotical Society" last night, during a conference in Hamburg.

Professor Oberth added that it is possible in his opinion, that these craft contain crews of creatures similar to humans, and proposed, to designate these unknown beings, the term "Uranids". The "Uranids", continued the German scientist, are probably thousands of years ahead of our time.

To explain why no "flying saucer" has yet crashed on earth, Professor Oberth suggests that pilots may have perfect control of their machines and that, for some reason human intelligence cannot can imagine, they may not want any contact with terrestrial crops.

Considering another possibility, Professor Oberth recalled that the observed saucers could be considered as an improvement of the V-7, German rockets of the end of the war, of which several prototypes would have fallen, according to the scientist, in the hands of the Russians in 1945.

The National Assembly
will take care
of flying saucers

While, on all sides (Deux-Sèvres, Côtes-du-Nord, Finistère, Nord, Indre) people of very good faith declare having seen these days in the sky or on the ground flying saucers and cigars, the presence of these craft concerns parliamentarians.

Today, it is Mr. Rocher [sic, Nocher], deputy of the Loire, who expressed to the Secretary of State for Air the emotion aroused in the public by the many and diverse testimonies concerning the "flying saucers".

flying saucers
and cigars

No flying saucer near Melun

MELUN, 4. -- The road menders who claimed to have seen a flying saucer, near the Coulommiers-Meaux road, gave up on their statements and admitted that they had fabricated their story.

They will likely be charged with contempt of court.

However, the flying saucers have not finished haunting the sky and even the country, if we believe the following testimonies:

Vic-sur-Sère, 4. -- Several people affirmed having seen, going towards the south, a machine having the form a cigar giving off a slight plume of smoke.

Nevers, 4. -- The representative of a Clamecy Insurance Company declares to have seen an orange-colored luminous disc which was moving in the sky and which, after having changed altitude several times, disappeared vertically.

Bressuire, 4. -- An employee of the Slaughter Center, Mr. Angelo Girardo, 55, living in Breuil-Chaussée (Deux-Sèvres), declared having seen Sunday morning, on his way to work, a circular machine near which was a being who appeared to him dressed in a kind of diving suit. The being in question went to Mr. Girardo who, frightened, fled. Shortly after, the circular machine set off again at a very high speed.

Abbeville, 4. -- Two young men from Vron (Somme) said they had seen on the Route Nationale, between Crécy and Ligescourt, a curious machine around which individuals of odd shape prowled. They approached the craft, which they say looked like a haystack, but it took off.

Châteauroux, 4. -- Mrs. widow Janiki, living in the village of Cerisier, commune of Levreux (Indre), told the gendarmerie that she had seen in the sky a luminous machine with a diameter of about 3 meters and which was at the level of the buildings.

Mrs. widow Lacotte, living about 200 meters from Mrs. Janiki's home, said she had witnessed the same phenomenon.

Châteauroux, 4. -- Mrs. Baron, resident of Vatan (Indre), said that on Saturday evening he saw a luminous ball in the sky.

She alerted her husband as well as fifteen people from her neighborhood, all of whom saw aat a very high altitude, the yellow "greenish" craft moving up and down in the sky.

Saint-Brieuc, 4. -- Several people claimed to have seen, 400 or 500 meters from them, last night, around 10:15 p.m., a "flying cigar", at an altitude of about 50 meters. The craft, they said, could be 15 meters in length and intermittently lit with pink gleams. It moved silently.

Brest, 4. -- Mrs. Henry, farmer in Guesnou (Finistère) said she saw Thursday, then Friday, in the evening at the same hour in the sky, a purple cylindrical craft which moved silently from West to East.

Lille, 4. -- Mr. Anicet Corneille, agricultural worker, said he saw on Saturday evening, in Comines, a machine in the shape of a cigar from 8 to 15 meters wide, which was moving at forty meters in height and produced a vivid purple glow. After flying over the city for a few seconds, the craft reportedly disappeared in the sky.

The statements made by Mr. Corneille were confirmed by a Tourcoing driver passing through Comines.

"Flying saucers exist"
says a German specialist

Flying saucers exist and represent at least ten percent of the craft observed in the sky," said Professor Hermann Oberth, German rocket scientist and honorary president of the "German Astronautical Society", yesterday during a conference he gave in Hamburg.

Professor Oberth added that it was possible in his opinion, that these craft contain crews of creatures similar to humans, and proposed, to designate these unknown beings, the term "Uranids". The "Uranids", continued the German scientist, are probably thousands of years ahead of our time.

To explain why no "flying saucer" has yet crashed on earth, Professor Oberth suggests that pilots may have perfect control of their apparatuses, and that for some reason human intelligence cannot imagine, they may desire no contact with earthly creatures.

Considering another possibility, Professor Oberth recalled that the observed saucers could be considered as an improvement of the V-7, German rockets of the end of the war, of which several prototypes would have fallen, according to the scientist, between the hands of the Russians in 1945.

Latest appearances

In Vic-sur-Cère. -- Several people claimed to have

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FLYING SAUCERS

(Continued from the first page)

sighted, moving towards the South, a craft in the shape of a cigar, releasing a light plume of smoke.

A representative of an insurance company in Clamecy, as well as several residents of Corbigny, saw a bright orange disc moving in the sky and which, after having changed altitude several times, disappeared vertically.

An employee, Mr. Angelo Girardeau, 55, living in Breuil-Chaussée (Deux-Sèvres), said he saw on Sunday morning, on his way to work, a circular craft near which was a being who appeared to him dressed in a kind of diving suit. The being in question went to Mr. Girardo who, frightened, fled. Shortly thereafter, the circular craft departed at a very high speed.

Mrs widow Janiki, living in the village of Cerisier, commune of Levreux (Indre), told the gendarmerie that she had seen in the sky a luminous machine with a diameter of approximately 3 meters and which was at the height of the buildings.

Mrs. widow Lacotte, living about 200 meters from Mrs. Janiki's home, witnessed the same phenomenon.

A strange craft
- above -
Mont Blanc

Chamonix, 4. -- Many people, including officers from the High Mountain School, Chamonix gendarmes and the pilot Guiron, a flight specialist in the high mountains, who flew over the region at the time, said they saw for more than an hour a brilliant machine moving between Mont Lachat and Mont Blanc.

The pilot Guiron indicated that flying about 2,000 meters above Faverges, he saw a craft which, he said, had no resemblance to a normal plane. In addition, the direction followed at high speed by this craft excluded the hypothesis of a sounding balloon.

A STRANGE CRAFT MOVES ABOVE MONT-BLANC FOR MORE THAN ONE HOUR

CHAMONIX. -- A very large number of people, among whom were officers from the High Mountain School, gendarmes from Chamonix and pilot Guiron, a specialist in high mountain flying who flew over the area at that time, said to have seen for more than one hour a craft move between Mount Lachat and Mont Blanc.

Pilot Guiron reported that flying about 2,000 meters above Faverges, he saw a craft which, he said, bore no resemblance to a normal aircraft. In addition the direction followed at high speed by this craft excluded the hypothesis of a sounding balloon.

A Saucers Invasion

Moreover, one continues - jokes, hallucinations or trustworthy testimonies - to report everywhere the manifestation in the sky of saucers or other cigars.

VIC-SUR-CERE. -- Several people have said that they have seen a cigar-shaped craft heading south, with a slight smoke plume.

NEVERS. -- A representative of an insurance company in Clamecy, as well as several residents of Corbigny, said they saw an orange luminous disc moving in the sky and which, after having several times changed altitude, disappeared vertically.

BRESSUIRE. -- Slaughter center employee, Mr. Angelo Girardeau, 55-year-old, residing in Breuil-Chaussée (Deux Sèvres), said he had seen Sunday morning, on his way to work, a circular machine near which was a being who appeared to him dressed in a kind of scuba. That character went to Mr. Girardeau who, frightened, fled. Shortly after the circular craft departed at very high speed.

ABBEVILLE. -- Two young men from Vron (Somme) said they saw on the national road, between Crécy and Ligescourt, a curious craft around which bizarre individuals roamed. They approached the craft, who, they say, looked like a haystack, but it took off. The two young people told their adventure to the gendarmes.

CHATEAUROUX. -- Mrs widow Janiki, residing at the Bourg du Ceris1er, commune of Levroux (Indre), told the police that she had seen in the sky a luminous craft of a diameter of about 8 meters and which was at the level of buildings. Mrs. widow Lacotte, who lives about 800 meters from Mrs. Janiki, said she witnessed the same phenomenon.

(See more on page 5)

A strange craft is moving...

(Continued from the first page.)

CHATEAUROUX. -- Mrs. Baron, living in Vatan (Indre), said she saw a luminous ball in the sky Sunday evening. She alerted her husband and about fifteen people from her neighborhood who, all, saw moving, at a very high altitude, the greenish yellow machine that went up and down in the sky.

An official report

Whereas these different appearances can make the skeptics smile, the information coming from Africa appears more serious. Because, probably not wanting to disdain any continent, flying saucers were seen in Côte d'Ivoire. The news came from an official report to the governor of Côte d'Ivoire by Mr. Vernhet, chief administrator of the Danane subdivision, a town 500 kilometers northwest of Abijan. The facts date back to September 19, but have only been made official today through specific inquiries and investigations.

In addition to the population, the head of the gendarmerie station, the chief medical officer of the medical center, the Reverend Father Vyard, of the Lyon missions, head of the subdivision, and his wife, gathered in the courtyard of the residence, and saw on September 19, from 8:30 p.m. zo 9:05 p.m., a craft exactly corresponding to those observed in France, but which did not land.

It was a luminous dot, surrounded by a halo that first grew rapidly, moving closer to or away from the horizon. The witnesses saw the craft light a powerful headlight, sometimes directed upwards, sometimes downwards. The craft, of ovoid shape, was surmounted by a dome and luminous beams seemed to be detached on each side.

When it disappeared, after having moved for half an hour, the witnesses saw very clearly two luminous halos of oval shape, to be formed on the presumed location of the craft. The latter moved without any noise. Administrator Vernhet has attached to his report a detailed sketch of the different phases observed, as well as of the shape of the craft.

On the same day, in Soubre, 250 kilometers north-west of Abidjan, and in the same direction, similar phenomena were observed. The head of the subdivision of Soubre confirmed the existence of the phenomenon he attended.

"The Uranids"

Moreover, the scientists who until now had remained silent on the flying saucers affairs, will they leave their prudent reserve?

"Flying saucers exist and account for at least ten percent of the craft observed in the sky," said Professor Oberth, German rocket scientist and honorary president of the "German Astronautical Society", during a conference in Hamburg.

Professor Oberth added that it is possible, in his opinion, that these craft contain crews of creatures similar to humans, and proposed, to designate these unknown beings, the term "URANIDS". The Uranids, the German scholar continued, are probably thousands of years ahead of our time.

To explain why no "flying saucer" crashed on Earth so far, Professor Oberth suggests that pilots may have perfect control of their craft and that, for some reason that human intelligence cannot imagine, they may not desire any contact with terrestrial creatures.

Looking at another possibility, Professor Oberth recalled that the saucers observed could be considered as a perfecting of the V7, German rockets of the end of World War II, of which several prototypes would have fallen, according to the scientist, in Russian hands in 1945.

DURING THE LAST WEEK-END

The flying saucers disturbed the Sunday rest of a certain number of Frenchmen

Chamonix. -- The chronicle of the flying saucers and other "cigars" continues to be abundantly provided. During the last weekend, the witnesses who have, indeed, seen mysterious machines are countless.

It is apparently Chamonix which should be given the priority, since, at the same moment, officers of the high mountain school, gendarmes, and pilot Guiron who flew over the area saw during more than one hour a white shining craft move between the mount Lachat and Mount Blanc.

Pilot Guiron said that, flying at approximately 2.000 meters above Faverges, he saw a craft which, he said, did not have any resemblance to a normal plane. Moreover, the direction followed at high speed by this apparatus excluded a sounding-balloon.

In Corbigny (the Nièvre), several inhabitants saw a luminous disc of orange color which moved in the sky and disappeared vertically after having changed altitude several times.

In Breuil-Chaussée, in the Deux-Sèvres, Mr. Girardeau, 55 years old, went to his work when, in a turn of the road, he noticed a circular machine "close to which was a being which seemed to him dressed in a kind of diving-suit". The "being" moved towards him and Mr. Girardeau fled, frightened. A little later the circular machine went away at high speed!

"You would have said a haystack"

It is also a curious machine around whose two odd individuals wandered that two young people people of Vron (Somme) stated to have seen. "We approached, they entrusted to the gendarmes. A haystack you would have said. Suddenly, the machine took off".

In the Indre, as well in Levroux as in Vatan, about fifteen people lengthily followed the moves of a luminous ball of yellowish color which went up and down in the sky and could have been three meters in diameter.

Mysterious devices continue to crisscross the sky

The "flying saucers" continue to travel the sky. Some land and their occupants are trying to get to know the human... Thus Mr. Angelo Girardeau, residing in Breuil-Chaussée (Deux-Sèvres), stated to have seen yesterday morning a circular machine near which was a being who appeared dressed him in a sort of spacesuit. The being in question headed Mr. Girardeau who, frightened, fled. Soon after, the circular craft returned at high speed.

Two young men of Vron (Somme), say they too have seen on the road between Crécy and Ligescourt a curious craft prowled around which individuals oddly shaped. They approached the craft which, they say, like a wheel, but he took off.

The two young men have told their adventure to the gendarmes.

In Vic-sur-Cere, several people claimed to have seen, heading south, a machine having the shape of a cigar and giving off a slight plume of smoke.

In the Nièvre, a representative of an insurance company of Clamecy and Corbigny several residents reported seeing a bright orange disc which after repeatedly changed altitude, disappeared vertically.

A resident of Bourg-du-Cerisier, in the Indre, Mrs. Janiki, told police she had seen flying at roof height of a building, a luminous machine with a diameter of 3 meters. Ms. Lacotte, who lives 800 meters from Ms. Janiki, said he noticed the phenomenon.

AN AUTHORIZED OPINION

"FLYING SAUCERS?
NOT SERIOUS!"

says Professor SCHATZMAN
Researcher at the Astro-Physics Institute

Paris. -- The "flying saucers", which poison the Western skies whenever important international events occur, extend their field of action over the African continent.

An official report to the Government of the Ivory Coast by the administrator of the Danane subdivision, 500 kilometers north-west of Abidjan, reported a "phenomenon" observed on 19 September, 8:30 p.m. to 09:05 p.m., by the said head of subdivision, Mr. Vernhet, his wife and Reverend Yvard, gathered in the courtyard of the Residence.

It was a luminous spot surrounded by a halo which at first grew rapidly, moving towards or away from the horizon. The witnesses saw the machine lighting a powerful headlight, sometimes directed upwards, sometimes downwards. The ovoid-shaped craft was surmounted by a cupola, and light rays seemed to be detached from each side.

When it disappeared after half an hour, the witnesses saw clearly - according to the report - two halos of light, oval in shape, forming at the presumed location of the craft which moved without any noise.

The same day, at Soubre, 250 kilometers north-west of Abidjan, similar phenomena were observed by the head of subdivision.

In France, flowering flourishes, passing through all forms of flying crockery: in Corbigny (Nièvre), it is a luminous orange disc moving vertically; in Breuil-Caussée [sic] (Deux-Sèvres) it is a diver mounted on a plate that scared an employee of the center of slaughter; in Vron (Somme), it is a millstone around which strange individuals prowl and flies away; in Levroux (Indre), it is a luminous machine 1 meter in diameter that is spotted "at the height of the buildings" by two widows of the area, and in Vatan (also in the Indre), it is a ball that 15 people see dancing like a dancer. In Milly-la-Forêt (S.-et-O.) it is a half-moon surmounted by a ring that appears to a restaurant owner.

Finally, on Monday in Chamonix for more than an hour, the officers of the high mountain school, many gendarmes of Chamonix and a pilot specializing in high-altitude flight flying over the region at that time followed the moves of a brilliant machine of bizarre form between Mount Lachat and Mount Blanc.

The opinion of a scientist

If one addresses the most qualified scientific circles, there are two attitudes: that of refusing to answer on the pretext that the problem does not exist and that of critically examining the published testimonies and to provide public opinion, confused and excited by the Press, the positive element allowing to recognize the natural phenomena.

This latter attitude is that of Professor Evry Schatzman, a research fellow at the Institute of Astrophysics and a lecturer at the Sorbonne, to whom we have asked to enlighten our readers.

"Is it true that scientists are beginning to take the flying saucers seriously?"

- I have never met any astronomer who believes the flying saucer stories [ast]. I have personally read many books on this subject, seeking to grasp the exact meanings of the testimonies reported. By admitting descriptions made in good faith - which is always to be doubted - it always results in a perplexity as to the elements that can be drawn from it. In the majority of cases they are incomprehensible: the precise hour, the duration, the exact direction of the "phenomenon" is not known, nor even if it occurred by day or night. Or they are made unreliable by details that cannot be distinguished. And they are reported with the intention of making believe in the mystery. When one has a precise and complete description, one can do what is at stake and which can make illusion for the heated imagination of a public knowingly deceived for commercial and political purposes.

- Can you describe such phenomena?

- The list is long and not yet exhausted, because it is necessary to take into account still unknown atmospheric and meteorological phenomena. Among the phenomena which may give rise to misunderstandings, these are the most characteristic, not to mention the "visions" prompted by the causes of popular anxiety, such as these parachutists spotted by artillerymen in May 1940, who every night shoot at... Venus!

1. The rising and setting of the planets (Especially Venus and Jupiter).

2. The "shooting stars" and the "fireballs": one tonne a day arrives on the earth. The light is produced by the heating of the aura on the meteoric trajectory. The smallest shooting stars visible to the naked eye are grains of matter of 1 milligram which vanish completely between 120 and 90 kilometers. Only the fast fall on the ground limits the complete destruction of the bolides, that a longer course in the atmosphere would also annihilate.

3. The phenomena of "parhelia", which give rise to false suns, together with halos, and which are explained by the presence in the upper atmosphere of hexagonal prismatic ice needles. The concentration of light rays (sun and moon) in calm air on these crystals produces luminous spots on the right and left of the sun or moon at an equal distance from the halo radius of 22 degrees 5. A halo occurs more with other suns or other moons, with a double angular diameter.

Thus the inhabitants of Péronne "believed to see" an unexpected sun eclipse on June 20 and 21. A normal halo of exceptional intensity occurred, about which Daniel Roguet, astronomical correspondent, described the effects in these terms:

"At certain times, depending on the cirrhus [sic] variation, the inside of the halo was very dark gray-black and the iridescent colors of the halo as bright as those of a beautiful rainbow, beyond it, a milky sky, slightly ocher, forming a magnificent contrast with the central part".

4. The high-voltage power line balls that serve as landmarks for aviators were recently mistaken for mysterious craft by cyclists who at night saw these balls swept by the lighthouse of an airfield.

5. Weather balloons from meteorologists.

6. Ball lightning: these are configurations that occur at certain thunderstorms, with a precarious charge balance.

7. The phenomenon of mirage in the atmosphere. You know how it happens on the ground: the light rays do not propagate in a straight line in hot air, but they just reflect on the film of overheated air, for example by the road tar during the summer. You think you see puddles of water in front of you [mir1]. The inversion of temperature at altitude also causes a change in the index of refraction: hence the effect for an aviator to see a spot of light go straight ahead, while this point has its real source on the ground. [mir2]

The object, which always seems to be at the speed of the airman, is, moreover, characteristic of the object situated at very great distances.

- But is it not possible to scientifically design terrestrial craft comparable to the "saucers" seen here and there?

No, for the great velocities of which the "witnesses" claim these "machines" are animated could only be reached in regions of rarefied air, at the limit of the atmosphere. The mechanical action of the air on their surface would soon have dispersed the molecules of the substance which they would be made of.

In short, to summarize the scholar's thought, there are three elements to be distinguished in these flying saucers stories:

1. A scientific element: discussion of observations, explanation of natural phenomena, sociological explanation of the phenomena of collective hallucination [hal].

2. A logical element: inconsistency of opinions and testimonies.

3. A political element: excitement of public opinion, substitution of imaginary problems for real problems, etc. [pol]

Mr. Evry Schatzman has enumerated the phenomena of vision, false perception, and hallucinations which may explain the most precise and complete testimonies-which are a minor infirmity and always subject to caution.

There is no scientist to take seriously the assumptions made by scientific writers, science-fiction specialists and members of the Pentagon [pol], who have also renounced the theory of extraterrestrial craft, as revealed in the last book by Mr. Keyhoe.

The saucers museum is always empty of exhibits. And it is difficult to admit, if the "saucers" are terrestrial craft, that we never collected a single fragment [fra], never heard the supersonic detonation [sup], nor ever observed a perturbation in the air.

It should also be noted that "saucers" and "other cigarillos" seem to be systematically missig in the Soviet skies, Chinese skies and people's democratic countries... [pol] [est]

Two women of Cerisier, near Chateauroux, told police they had seen a "luminous bowl" about nine feet in diameter just over their rooftops.

About October 3 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

?: Bourg-du-Cerisier (près Levroux--Indre):

[... other cases...]

177) October 2, 1954 Levroux (France):

At the Bourg du Cerisier, two women (Janicki and Lacotte) independently reported to the police that a luminous disk about 3 m in diameter had flown very low over the village. (32) (Le Figaro, 4 octobre 1954; France-Soir, Libération, La Croix, 5 octobre 1954.)

Levroux, France. October 2nd.

A disc-shaped object buzzed the rooftops of Levroux on the 2nd and was reported to the local police by two of the village women. The reports, made independently, describe the object as three meters in diameter and luminous. 15.

• 15. Paris, France. Le Figaro. 4 October 54.

3902: 1954/10/02 00:00 10 1:36:00 E 46:58:40 N 3331 WEU FRN INR 6:9

LEVROUX,FR:2 SEP WOMEN:LUMn 3M SCR/> VERY LO OVR VILLAGE:NFD:/LDLN#102+/r8

Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 106 : FARMLANDS

On this Day

October 2

[...]

1954 - In Levroux, France two single women (Janicki and Lacotte) independently reported to police that a luminous disc about three meters in diameter had flown very low over their village of Cerisier. (Sources: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 215; Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 106).

*Oct. 2, 1954 -In Levroux, France two single women (Janicki and Lacotte) independently reported to police that a luminous disc about three meters in diameter had flown very low over their village of Cerisier. (Sources: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 215; Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 106).

October 2. 1954.

LEVROUX (INDRE : FRANCE)

At the Bourse [sic] du Cerisier Mesdames Janiki and Lacotte independently reported to police that a luminous disc about 3m in diameter had flown very low over the village.

• Vallee Case 177 citing Figaro 4 October 1954. + France Soir + Liberation+ La Croix all 5 October 1954.

36/03 - 1954 October 02 - Levroux

Madam Widow Janiki residing in the village of Les Cerisiers, commune of Levroux, declared to the Gendarmerie that she had seen in the sky a luminous craft with a diameter of about three meters which was at the height of the buildings.

Madam Lacotte witnessed the same phenomenon. (Sources: La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest of October 4, 1954 - Le Figaro of October 4, 1954 - L'Est Républicain of October 5, 1954 - France-Soir of October 5, 1954 - Liberation of October 5, 1954 - Le Petit Varois of October 5, October 1954)