The 1954 French flap:

A "CIGAR" IN THE SKY OF COGNAC?

In the evening of Sunday, around 9 p.m., Mrs. Bellanger, resident of Cognac, avenue of Javrezac, was in her garden, when she saw at an altitude of 200 meters approximately a machine in the shape of a cigar of orange color, slowly moving above Cognac.

She called her husband and her two daughters who were also witness of this phenomenon. The machine remained approximately three minutes above the city, then disappeared while accelerating.

THE MYSTERIOUS CRAFT
are multiplying in the sky

LYON. -- Several people stated to have seen in the area of Epinac-les-Mines (the Saone-and-Loire), a kind of large luminous ball evolving slowly in an odd way in the sky. Puzzled motorists stopped on the road and could observe this ball during several minutes before seeing it disappearing suddenly for Le Creusot.

A similar phenomenon was observed in Ain and the north of the department of the Rhone, towards the collar of Echarmeaux, as well as in the Isère, close to Morestel.

Near Le Havre

LE HAVRE. -- Mr. André Lefebvre, taxi driver, who stationed around 8 p.m., on the harbour, saw an incandescent disc which, at the West of Deauville, went up in the sky, leaving behind itself a phosphorescent trail and a light smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible during ten minutes, had also as witnesses several sailors regaining their boat.

In the Haute-Loire

LE PUY. -- Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of St-Etienne, who camped in Aurec-sur-Loire (the Haute-Loire) saw in the sky a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight which moved at a fast pace at approximately 2.000 meters of altitude. The machine emitted a ray of light of orange red color, and followed a North-South trajectory. When it had disappeared, a second machine similar to the first and appearing to follow it appeared, followed the same direction and disappeared too.

Approximately at the same moment several people saw, above the bell-tower of Aurec, similar craft, which after having become motionless one moment crossed the sky at a fast pace in direction of the South-west.

A crescent splits in two

LENS. -- Sunday evening, around 09:30 p.m., in Ablain-St-Nazaire, a craft which had the shape of a pot and which rotated was seen in the sky by two people. It released a reddish gleam and quickly moved.

At the same hour, a craft which, this time, had the shape of a crescent was seen in the sky in Liévain. After having hovered during a few minutes, the crescent split in two. The higher part then remained motionless, while the other landed in a field, between two haystacks, from where it flew away little afterwards to go to reattach to the part that had remained in the air.

In the Charente

ANGOULEME. -- Sunday evening, at approximately 11:15 p.m. on the Montecreau-Ville-Bois-Lavalette road (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, aged 22, saw very clearly, in the gleam of the headlight of his motorcycle, a kind of barrel high of approximately 1 m. 80, spread of gilded nails, which was oscillating on the edge of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious machine, he turned back at a distance of approximately ten meters, but he did not see anything anymore.

Witnesses saw, at the very spot indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of approximately seven meters length in the grass which borders the road.

In addition, the same night, Mrs. Bellanger, resident of Cognac, saw at an altitude of approximately 300 meters, a machine in the shape of cigar, of orange color, moving slowly above the city.

On Clermont-Ferrand

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Residents of Clermont saw, around 7 p.m., in the sky, a luminous point of the dimension of a large star, which frequently changed color, passing from the white to the green while tainting itself of orange. The luminous point appeared animated of a rotary movement. While disappearing it left behind itself an orange plume.