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The article below was published in the daily newspaper La République, Deux-Sèvres, France, on January 19, 1971.
Several totally reliable people observed a strange phenomenon on Sunday January 17 at midnight, in the Saint-Varent sky. This strange "object", or atmospheric curiosity, appeared as a very bright red semi-circle, like a neon light, motionless at a short distance from the ground, and suspended on a line that can be located from the station and extending to Riblaire and St-Généroux.
Two people who had just passed near the "Le Lido" cinema in St-Varent even took a car to try to get closer to the "craft" by taking the road that connects Saint-Varent to Riblaire, but when the vehicle came out on the N. 138, the apparition had vanished.
It's hard to pinpoint the size of this pseudo flying saucer, but it seemed to cover quite a large area. The phenomenon lasted about five minutes according to the statements of several Saint-Varentais. But it is possible that the mysterious semi-circle was seen by many spectators when they left the cinema in St-Varent.
