The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 8-Aug-54-Remiremont.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In his 1966 book "Challenge To Science: The UFO Enigma", Jacques Vallée indicated that there had been four sightings on August 11, 1954 in France, including one in Remiremont - the others in the same region. Vallée did not seem to suspect that it might be a meteor. He gave neither details nor sources, only referring to these cases as "preludes" to the 1954 wave in France.
François Diolez, from the CNEGU ufology group, published in November 1984 a catalog of Vosges cases, with the help of François Lagarde.
This catalog indicated that on Sunday August 8, 1954 at 03:00 local time in Remiremont the following observation took place, reported in an article in the newspaper La Liberté de l'Est for August 11, 1984, the full text of which was:
"THE FLYING CIGAR WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN REMIREMONT"
"EPINAL: We reported in our Monday issue that a "meteor" in the shape of a cigar, circulating horizontally had been observed in the night from Saturday to Sunday above Contrexeville and VITTEL by several reliable people. On this matter one of our readers from Epinal sends us a letter which confirms our information. Our occasional correspondent was returning from the night party in Remiremont, when on leaving this town, he was, with his comrade, immobilized by a breakdown of motorcycle. At that moment, he wrote to us, my attention was suddenly drawn by a luminous phenomenon in the sky. I had time to tell my companion who, like me, witnessed it. It was exactly 3 o'clock in the morning. This "thing" was moving horizontally at quite a high altitude, in a northeast direction, and was visible for eight to ten seconds. It then disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. "It had the effect on us. a cigar, or if you like, a disc seen in perspective. The incandescent white object in front, followed by an apparently orange-red flame tip, terminated in a whitish luminous area. "About a minute later, we heard a low, muffled, distant bang. In relation to this phenomenon, I do not know. "This phenomenon must be the one that you relate in your issue of today, observed in Contrexeville." This confirms the information that we had given with all the more confidence that it was the result of several corroborating testimonies."
Diolez adds that La Liberté de l'Est for August 12, 1954 - the full article being given in his catalog - reported:
"District of EPINAL: HE HAS SEEN A MYSTERIOUS CIGAR!"
"One of our friends from LAVAL, Mr. PERRIN, farmer, had to get up over the last few nights to go and calm his dogs who kept barking. Great was his surprise to see in the sky a luminous craft in the shape of a big cigar, which left behind a shower of sparks. This mysterious craft was going quickly in the direction of BRUYERES."
The author commented that there is the possibility that it was the same phenomenon in Remiremont, Epinal, Contrexeville and Vittel and noted that the directions matched. He noted that on one side there is a meteor with its trail and explosion, on the other a cigar that perhaps stalls a motorcycle and scares the dogs.
He points out that this case was cited by Jacques Vallée, but dated of the 11th which seems false and that a slight doubt remains on the other hand for the exact date which could be August 1st and not 8th.
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques Vallée indicates that there had been four sightings in France on August 11, 1954, in Remiremont, Serezin, Contrexéville and Gerardmer.
[Ref. lbs1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LA LIGNE BLEUE SURVOLEE?":
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10°) CASE Nr F/98/88540808 {02)
REMIREMONT - SUNDAY AUGUST 8, 1954
03:00 P.M.
Witnesses: 2 (EPINAL resident)
Sources: La Liberté de l'Est article, August 11, 1984
"THE FLYING CIGAR WAS ALSO SIGHTED AT REMIREMONT
EPINAL: We reported in our Monday issue that a cigar-shaped, horizontally circulating "meteor" was observed overnight from Saturday to Sunday above CONTREXEVILLE and VITTEL by several trustworthy people. On this matter, one of our Epinal readers sends us a letter confirming our information. Our occasional correspondent was returning from the night party in REMIREMONT, when on leaving this town, he was, with his comrade, immobilized by a motorcycle breakdown. At this moment, he wrote to us, my attention was suddenly drawn to a luminous phenomenon in the sky. I had time to share it with my companion who, like me, witnessed it. It was exactly 3 o'clock in the morning. This thing was moving horizontally, at a fairly high altitude, in a northeasterly direction, and was visible for eight to ten seconds. She then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. "It seemed to us like a cigar, or if you will, a disc seen in perspective. The object was white incandescent in front, followed by a spot apparently of orange-red flame, terminated by a whitish luminous zone". About a minute later we heard a faint, distant, dull bang. Was it related to this phenomenon, I don't know. "This phenomenon must be the one you relate in your issue today, observed at
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CONTREXEVILLE". This confirms the information we gave with all the more confidence that it was the result of several concordant testimonies".
(Full article).
NOTE: La Liberté de l'Est for August 12, 1954 reports:
"EPINAL district: HE SAW THE MYSTERIOUS CIGAR!
One of our friends from LAVAL, Mr. PERRIN, a farmer, had had to get up over the past few nights to go and calm his dogs, who kept barking. Great was his surprise to see in the sky a luminous crsft having the shape of a big cigar, which left behind a shower of sparks. This mysterious craft was going rapidly in the direction of BRUYERES".
(Full article).
Comments:
[Ref. lbs2:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LA LIGNE BLEUE SURVOLEE?":
| Num. | DATE | PLACE | TIME | SHORT DESCRIPTION | 1234 | SOURCES | EXPLANATIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08-08-1954 | REMIREMONT | 03:00 a.m. | Incandescent white "cigar", with an orange-red tip at the back, terminating in a whitish luminous zone. Duration 8 to 10 seconds. Dull and distant detonation about 1 min later. | ...X | Liberté de l'Est for 08/11/1954 | Meteor |
[Ref. fdz1:] FRANCOIS DIOLEZ:
F. Diolez of the French ufology group CNEGU set up a catalogue of cases in the Vosges, in November 1984, with the help of ufologist François Lagarde.
The catalogue indicates that on Sunday August 8, 1954 at 03:00 local time in Remiremont, the following observation took place and was reported in an article in La Liberté de l'Est for August 11, 1984.
"THE FLYING CIGAR WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN REMIREMONT"
EPINAL: We reported in our Monday issue that a "meteor" in the shape of a cigar, circulating horizontally, had been observed in the night from Saturday to Sunday above Contrexeville and VITTEL by several people worthy of faith. On this subject one of our readers from Epinal sent us a letter which confirms our information. Our occasional correspondent returned from the night festival in Remiremont, when at the exit of this city, he was, with his comrade, immobilized by a motorbike failure. At this time, he writes to us, my attention was suddenly attracted by a luminous phenomenon in the sky. I had time to inform my companion about it, who, like I, was a witness. It was exactly 3 hours of the morning. This "thing" moved horizontally at rather high altitude, in the North-eastern direction, and was visible during eight to ten seconds. It then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. "It made on us the effect of a cigar, or if you wish, of a disc seen from the side. The object of an incandescent white in the front, followed of a point of apparently orange red flame, finished by a whitish luminous zone." Approximately a minute afterwards, we heard a weak deaf and remote explosion. If this was related to the phenomenon, I do not know." This phenomenon must be that which you report in your issue of today, noted in Contrexeville." Thus the information that we had given is confirmed with all the more confidence that it resulted from several concordant testimonies."
The author of the catalogue indicates that this is the entire article, and that La Liberté de l'Est for August 12, 1954 whose integral article is shown now reported:
"District of EPINAL: HE SAW A MYSTERIEUX CIGAR!"
"One of our friends from LAVAL, Mr. PERRIN, farmer, had during these last nights, to go up to alleviate his dogs who did not stop barking. His amazement was great when he saw in the sky a luminous apparatus having the shape of a large cigar, which left behind it a shower of sparks. This mysterious machine went quickly in the direction of BRUYERES."
The author comments on that there is the possibility that it was the same phenomenon in Remiremont, Epinal, Contrexeville and Vittel and he notes that the directions are in agreement.
He notes that it there is on one side a meteor with a trail and an explosion, and on the other side a cigar which perhaps made the motorbike engine stall and frightened the dogs.
He points out that this case is partially quoted by Jacques Vallée in "Phénomènes Insolites de l'espace" on page 176/177 but dated from the 11th, what appears false and that some doubt remains on the other hand for the exact date which could be on August 1 and not the 8 for this multiple observation.
He notes that this article of La Liberté de l'Est reported on August 11, 1954, a power failure on August 9, 1954 in the evening around 9 p.m. because of a tree which had fallen down on the power line Bruyères-Laveline, and that many people had noticed at this hour a great blue gleam in the sky in direction of Laveline, which could be caused by that tree falling on that power line.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3700: 1954/08/11 12:00 0 6:35:00 E 48:01:00 N 3330 WEU FRN VSG 6:9
REMIREMONT,FR+3 SEP.TOWNS:COMPASSES SPIN:EME/ALL TYPES:START OF WAVE?:/r3p151
Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 262 : PASTURE
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website says that on 11 August 1954 at 03:00 in Remiremont, France, "Compass deflection case. Compasses spin, all types of electromagnetic effects in three separate towns."
And: "At three o'clock in the morning a compass started spinning wildly and other types of EM effects occurred in Remiremont, France and two other towns when at least one UFO briefly flew over."
And: "Objects were observed. Electromagnetic effects were noted. More than one object was observed by numerous witnesses in a pasture briefly."
The sources are noted as "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Lumieres dans la Nuit, Lumieres dans la Nuit; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
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Perfect description of a meteor.
The story of the spinning compass is obviously another case.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Remiremont, Vosges, Perrin, multiple, motor bike, breakdown, cigar, powerline, trail, explosion, meteor, red, orange, white, night
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 9, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 6, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | August 23, 2010 | Additions [jve1], [uda1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 20, 2021 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | June 12, 2022 | Additions [lbs2]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | July 11, 2022 | Additions [lbs1]. |
