The 1954 French flap:

Mistaken for Martians

With "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS," featuring the modern version of H. G. Well's story of an invasion from Mars, playing currently in French theatres, and the widespread tales of four-foot midgets wielding paralyzing rayguns, it was natural that Gallic wit often turned to jumpy nerves.

M. Pierre Langlois was a genial farmer who laughed a lot until he ran smack into a man from Mars right in the middle of National Road 76, in the Cher Valley district. There, bending over some diabolical, other-wordly engine, was a strangely luminous figure, appearing to be half floating around it. The figure was attaching something, a raygun the farmer surmised, with a protruding metal claw. Grabbing a shotgun from his house, he gave the man from Mars both barrels.

Next day, in court, M. Langlois had a lot of explaning to do. For the "Martian" was M. Andre Lacoste, a traveling salesman from Bordeaux, who, wearing a white raincoat, had been fixing the carburator of his auto with a monkey wrench. His figure had been illuminated by the headlight of the car.

October 31st.

[...]

A "Martian" is shot.

James Moseley wrote:

"In the Cher Valley district, M. Pierre Langlois, a genial farmer, was trudging home through a downpour of rain when he encountered a man from Mars in a strangely luminous costume floating over and around a flying saucer, apparently mounting a death-ray gun. M. Langlois could see the glint of a metallic claw protruding from the Martian's sleeve. Not being easily intimidated, Langlois got a shotgun from his home and gave the Martian both barrels at 40 yards. There was a yelp of pain, and a passing motorist a few minutes later picked up M. Andre Lacoste, in a white raincoat, with buckshot pellets in his arms and ribs. M. Lacoste turned out to be a traveling salesman from Bordeaux, who had been fixing the carburetor of his Renault with a monkey-wrench." 237.

• 237. "Current Saucer Reports:French and Italian Landings." Nexus. Tome 2 Book I. January 1955. p.2.