This article was published in the daily newspaper Le Provençal, France, page 3, on January 5, 1978.
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From our Apt agency. It is well known, we live under the purest sky of Europe. In these clear winter nights, one distinguishes the thousands of stars which scintillate harshly. One also sees there, sometimes, strange things. UFOS.
Must we believe or not believe? How not to ask the question when so many eyewitnesses, almost always worthy of faith, claim to have seen? And how not to pour a new piece into the file of the strange when these testimonys multiply and agree perfectly.
Whatever it is, no one cannot remain indifferent.
And even if one smiles sometimes at the study committees, at the pseudo-scientific associations which are created here and there, we must also record, count and spread the testimony.
Yesterday, it was in the Gard, near Uzès, that two girls observed a surprising phenomenon.
Today, it is in country of Apt.
We managed to join several convincing witnesses who simultaneously saw a mysterious craft moving in the sky.
And although we are between the Nativity and the Epiphany, nobody believes today in a replay of the Star of Betlehem.
We went on the spot and saw some of the witnesses.
Must we say that our rationalist feeling was seriously shaken?
That's a stretch from being fully convinced...
Saturday, December 31 - the year 1977 ends.
It is 7 p.m. in Lacoste. A young farmer of the Plan, Claude Gautier is on the point of going to new year's party.
He drives at the steering wheel of a R12 station wagon in direction of the Beaumettes where he brings back two gun dogs a a friend lent him at this point in time between Notre Dame des Lumières and the Beaumettes, his attention is attracted by a strange gleam in the sky.
"I initially believed in a plane on fire which was going to crash."
Then, Mr. Gautier, worthy of faith, continues.
"I then saw an orange red ball which left behind itself a long whitish trail loaded with smoke and seemed to move slightly in gimlet at a low speed in direction of my vehicle. The craft seemed to be at approximately 50 and 100 m height in the sky and was haloed of a gleam which spread out over approximately 60 m around the car and in the countryside. It was impressive, you would believe being in full day [Meteor?]. When I accelerated, the craft disappeared. I then went to the Guille garage, in the Beaumettes, from where one phoned to the gendarmes".
The owner of the garage was to record, a few minutes later, another testimony, that of a young motorist claiming to have seen this strange object haloed of a red gleam in the district "La Sauvage", i.e., in the same area as that of Claude Gautier. But, even more convincing, other people come to add their testimonys to these two statements. Mr. George Jullian who lives in the district of l'Etang in the Plan of Bonnieux is categorical: "That occurred Saturday, around 06:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.. I had just fed the dogs; I was then intrigued by an orange red gleam which lit the sky of Goult and I saw a ball, motionless. One minute later, it disappeared.
I immediately thought of a fireworks, but when my son, too, reported the event to me, I made the connection at once".
One remains pensive when to these observations made by "quiet" people and in good faith, come to add to those of two gendarmes who saw these same mysterious gleams, or, those of the inhabitants of Bonnieux who state to have seen a strange craft moving in the sky.
statements that agree and which it will be advisable to look further into.
One proceeds, moreover, to an investigation currently.
In the R12 of Mr. Gautier, the dogs still in awakening did not have any reaction, however.
One can in no case speak about hallucination or optical illusion.
The sky neither could have mislead the observers, it was pure and a sharp mistral [wind] blew then, clearing it from all impurities.
So far about ten testimonys were collected.
Then in Apt country questions are asked.
It is not the first time that such phenomena occur.
Scepticism made place to interrogation.
And if it were quite simply experimental objects which one wants to hide from us? [Then, why do people see them?]
And what if quite simply these UFO were of our world. [And what if quite simply an actual extraterrestrial meteor had passed by?]
Perhaps the future will someday answer the questions that we ask ourselves.
Report-investigation by Jean-Marc AUBERT with the collaboration of René BRUNI.
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