This article was published in the daily newspaper Le Provençal, France, page 4, for June 1, 1976.
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8 days ago, the GREPO (Group of research and study of the UFO phenomenon) whose seat is located at Sorgues organized a regional observation campaign. This was between Friday, May 14 and Friday, May 21. The goal of this operation was to make the GREPO known to the public and to sensitize the opinion on this problem.
Within the framework of this campaign, 3 people answered in Orange. These 3 people who wish to keep the anonymity whose average age ranges between 16 and 19 years old are female coeds. Saturday May 15 they were around 11:30 p.m. in the northern Orange district of Portail Lançon, to await two other friends. Automatically they look at the sky and were attracted by a strong gleam coming very quickly and going down towards them. This gleam came from the West and was distant. But in a few moment the light was almost on them, always in fast descent. Owing to the fact that [sic] our 3 witnesses believed one moment that it was going to fall on them from above. But at the last moment, the apparatus slowed down in level flight and fell (or seemed to fall) behind the houses of the district. Closest to them the apparatus which did not correspond to anything [they knew] was distant of only a few hundreds of meters. It was of yellow luminosity and had the shape of a cigar so to speak. When it was almost on them in very slow level flight it released a white "smoke" behind it. In spite of the silence of the district at this time, the machine did not produce any noise. Tthis lack of noise strongly astonishes the witnesses who were a little afraid of this unknown. The phenomenon thus seeming to have fallen they looked for it without success. But it was certain that it had disappeared from their eyes very close to the place where it had fallen. But not wanting to be taken for praksters, one of the boys left with his motorbike to try at all costs to know what occurred to this mysterious object.
At the Portail Lançon there was nothing so he took N. 7 [main road 7] and moved towards Avignon when at the exit of Orange at the height of the Berliet garage, he saw this apparatus again. Still of yellow color (very dazzling) and in the shape of a cigar. It evolved slowly and horizontally and moved to the south-west. He looked at it a few minutes and seize [sic] of fear set out again to join the 2 people who awaited him at the initial place.
At arm's length this machine had the size of the full moon (approximately) and taking into account the minimal distance of observation the size of the machine ranged between 17 and 25 m broad. How, from Portail Lançon, it arrived at the Orange exit without being seen by the 3 involved witnesses is a enigma. But because of its size and its strong luminosity there are surely other people on the area who must have seen it.
In this possibility it would be interesting that they urgently contact the representative of GREPO in Orange Mr. Troadec 26, street Henri-Fabre 64100 Orange Phone. 34.24.21 (discretion assured).
It should be noted that the whole observation lasted ten minutes.
For the regional direction
GREPO
J.-P. TROADEC
Notes: The akward writing is as in the original French version.
The entire description of the observation by the three female coeds witnesses is a perfect description of a meteor fall. There is a problem with the boy who is presented as if he was one of the three coeds and who would have seen again "the apparatus" later and further away. He was maybe one of the friends awaited by the coeds; did he invent this UFO pursuit to impress the girls? An investigation or other testimonies did perhaps shed some light on this...
