The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Provençal, Marseille, France, page 12, on September 23, 1954.
See the case file.
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Lodève (A.F.P).
The strange craft known as a "flying cigar," previously reported in the Puy-de-Dôme and the skies over Rome, was seen on Saturday, September 18 at exactly 7:00 p.m. by three trustworthy residents of the town of Lodève, in the northern part of the Hérault department, as it flew at an altitude of approximately 1,600 meters.
The craft was heading south. The observers were able to watch for nearly five minutes a streamlined front end towing a brilliantly lit fire-red globe, which moved silently at roughly the speed of an ordinary airplane.
It did not appear to be any known type of aircraft.