The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Provençal, Marseille, France, pages 1 and 9, on January 9, 1954.
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Our report yesterday about the mysterious round and luminous craft seen by a firefighter at Marignane airport brought us many phone calls... and a visit. That of a well-known Marseille figure in sporting circles.
This person's account serves as a sort of confirmation of the facts we reported yesterday. Here it is:
"I was driving on the Crau road Tuesday night, around 10:45 p.m. (that is, the day after the 'sighting' in Marignane), returning from Arles to Marseille. In the car, besides myself, were my wife and two other people. I should add that the night was very dark. Suddenly, just as we had passed the outskirts of Saint-Martin-de-Crau, we saw in the sky, to the left of the road, a large reddish ball, like a glowing ember."
Constant VAUTRAVERS
Continued on page 9
under the title:
FLYING SAUCER
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Continued from the front page
It lasted a few seconds, and the ball disappeared, giving the impression of having sped away at a dizzying speed in a direction perpendicular to ours, having crossed our path.
All that remained of the object's passage was a sort of luminous trail, comparable to the light of a car headlight, which lingered in the sky for a moment before dissolving."
Could the four travelers have suffered a collective hallucination? On the contrary, the account given to us stands out for its attention to detail and objectivity.
"Once we arrived in Marseille," concluded our visitor, "we initially thought about reporting the strange sight we had just witnessed, but we were afraid we wouldn't be believed. However, the report in 'Le Provençal' coincided so closely with our own observations that our doubts disappeared. The 'flying saucer' seen Monday night in Marignane may very well have repeated its mysterious maneuvers the following night — maneuvers of which we were the witnesses."
We submit this new piece of information to the case, which remains open.
Le Mont-Dore (A.F.P.)
The residents of the small hamlet of Monthaleix, commune of Chambon-sur-Lac, on the foothills of the Sancy Massif, were awakened yesterday morning at dawn by the sound of an airplane engine.
This noise continued for two hours, from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Then, a large greenish glow was seen in the sky and the noise stopped. The station in Aix-en-Provence, with which the local authorities had established contact, reported no aircraft in distress.
