The 1954 French flap:

FLYING SAUCERS

False alert in Vaucluse

THE MINISTRY OF AIR DENIES
the observation of a luminous phenomenon
by two aviators from the Orange base

A big event faded yesterday on the front of the flying saucers.

The affair took place in the Vaucluse, in the limpid sky where Mount Ventoux dominates the relief, above Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. At 6:30 p.m., witnesses said that they had just seen a white disk surmounted by a spherical cap. The craft had two powerful lights alternating from white to red and purple colors. The comments went very fast and in good faith, it seems, several people gave reports that confirmed most of the countless phenomena already observed around the world. The nearby Caritat air base was alerted while the craft was still visible. Two jet planes took off and one waited impatiently for the pilots' report.

However, imprudents people ventured to publish premature news: the pilots had spotted the craft they were hunting. But it escaped at a speed much greater than theirs.

In fact, this was not the case, and yesterday the Air Ministry denied these fanciful claims. "Contrary to the information published by some newspapers Friday morning, the two pilots sent in pursuit of the saucer overflew Fontaine-de-Vaucluse at different altitudes and observed no unknown apparatus during their searches. These are experienced officers and their report is formal."

It was therefore necessary to mourn the saucer of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. But in a field which in the autumn of 1954 offers a vast unknown in the world, that is not enough to conclude that flying saucers do not exist. There remain, alas, too many unexplained cases, and the enigma that remains hardly seems to be resolved.

On the other hand, Mr. Gauffredy, deputy mayor of Roussillon, saw, around 6 p.m., a saucer of greenish color which disappeared in a few seconds. Mr. Pierre Hector, entrepreneur, saw the same craft at the same time at Coustellet.

***

-- At 6:30 p.m. yesterday a score of people saw in the sky of Apt a craft in the shape of a cigar with a big white glow at the front. The craft disappeared suddenly leaving two green lights.

-- In Vaison, in Bollène, at the Ponet and L'Isle-sur-Sorgue, between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., various credible people saw either a luminous disc or a cigar moving at a dizzying speed.

-- A baker, Mr. Elie Théry, aged 43, living on the road from Saint-Omer to Calais, on his way home at around 3:30 a.m. in the morning, saw on the Dunkerque-Calais railway, near the level crossing of Saint-Pierre-Halte, 50 meters from him, a spherical luminous craft about 2 meters high and 4 meters wide. The object was extremely bright.

Mr. Thery, who passes for a very serious and conscientious man, has been deeply moved by this discovery.

-- In Vignory and Brottesy/a>, villages of the Haute-Marne, an orange-colored object was seen by different witnesses.

In the first case, it rose at a vertiginous pace towards the sky; the second time, Mr. Taillandier, an employee of the Chaumont buses, his wife and daughter, living at Brottes, saw an identical gleam moving from Neuilly to Vignory, moving very quickly.

In both cases, no noise was perceived.

Thursday, October 14, 1954

1 p.m. - Vaison la Romaine.

At 1 p.m., several people saw two planes moving around a cigar-shaped object shining like silver. The whole was going fast in the direction of Bollene.

Is it the same object observed above Fontaine de Vaucluse pursued by a patrol of the air base of Orange-Caritat that same day?

(this case will be the subject of a future issue of our newsletter).

[... other cases...]

12) 10/14/54 - 01:00 p.m. - Vaison la Romaine (Vaucluse Ufologie n°3)

[... other cases...]

THE SECTION OF THE FIFTIES.

With Vaucluse Ufologie #7, we gave you the list of all the cases of observation that we had for the period of the fifties, from 1950 to 1959. But since this publication we have been able to update this list, complete it and, sometimes, specify it further. It is above all because Jean Pierre Troadec endeavored to update his file for this period, with the aim of compiling a catalog of all the cases of UFO sightings on the Vaucluse that GREPO will make known in some time in a special issue of our bulletin, which I can give you today a new list. This new list obviously eliminates the previous one which contained many date errors, but it is still imprecise in certain cases. I hope that it can serve you usefully, or even generate investigations or counter-investigations; and, if you have new elements or other cases that we do not have, let us know and I will communicate them in this section with your references.

[... other cases...]

13° - 10/14/54 - 01:00 p.m. - Vaison. 1 cigare-shaped brilliant object. (Vaucluse Ufologie n°3).

[... other cases...]

THURSDAY OCTOBER 14, 1954 - 12:00 [noon]

VAISON LA ROMAINE

Reference 6

At 01:00 p.m., several people saw two planes moving around an object shiny like silver. Cigar shaped. The whole thing was heading towards Bollène.

Is it the same object observed on Fontaine de Vaucluse and followed by a patrol of the Orange-Caritat air base? At 01:30 p.m. The only items that we have came from our search in the archive of Dauphiné Libéré. An error might have slipped in the indication of the hour of passage above Vaison.