The article below was published in the daily newspaper La Croix, Paris, France, page 1, on August 25, 1954.
See the case file.
![]() |
Mysterious craft were reportedly seen by several people in the sky over Vernon (Eure) during the night from Sunday to Monday.
The son of a local shopkeeper claims to have clearly seen, around 1 a.m., above the Seine, an elongated red object resembling a very large cigar. According to him, the object hovered motionless at fairly low altitude. Total silence prevailed.
From this strange craft detached a flying saucer, which the witness described precisely:
It had the shape of an oval disc, dark in color, topped by a red dome with a very bright halo surrounded by flames.
The flying saucer separated from the cigar, dropped vertically, then seemed to attempt horizontal flight above the bridge. It turned, climbed back up, and suddenly disappeared—only to be immediately replaced by another.
This curious carousel is said to have lasted three quarters of an hour.
These observations were confirmed by several people, including a chemical engineer from the army’s ballistics and atomic research laboratory, who at the same time was traveling on Route Nationale 182. The engineer observed the mysterious bright craft and concluded, with his companion, that they could only have been flying saucers.