The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Mid-Nov-Tracute;lon.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the north of France, the regional and departmental press generally reported sightings (false, real, or the result of misinterpretations) sometimes with a certain irony, but often without mockery or particular fancifulness.
But the small local newspapers, curiously, tended to make more of a joke of the "Martians," sometimes inventing clearly parodic little stories, sometimes telling of events of which it is unclear whether they were rumors, parodies, or pure inventions. This was particularly true toward the end of the "wave" of the autumn of 1954 in France.
An example is the newspaper Le Courrier de la Région de Fourmies of November 20, 1954, which reported on page 3 no more and no less than the following:
In a certain neighborhood of Trélon, great commotion: flashes, suspicious comings and goings for two hours.
Could it be a Martian?.. Surely. But no saucer. Why did he vanish just when we wanted to capture him?
[Ref. cfs1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER DE LA REGION DE FOURMIES":
|
In a certain neighborhood of Trélon, great commotion: flashes, suspicious comings and goings for two hours.
Could it be a Martian?.. Surely. But no saucer. Why did he vanish just when one wanted to capture him?
|
Ufological sources generally left such stories aside; of course, they have no "intrinsic value".
However, ignoring them downplays the fact that the Press has not always been serious on the subject. It also masks the circumstances of the "end of the wave," that is, the rather sudden disappearance of mentions of "flying saucers" in the press, which in my opinion is due at least in part to the multiplication of hoaxes, and the subsequent increase in parodic or mocking articles.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Tracute;lon, Nord, Martian
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 17, 2025 | First published. |
