The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 25-Oct-54-Voutré.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the 1960s–1970s, the LDLN ufology group, affiliated with the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit, undertook to revisit French testimonies from 1954; on that occasion, the following case, then unpublished, surfaced in the form of a March 1971 investigation report by ufologist Jean Bellanger of Laval in Mayenne.
This report was virtually "buried" in the old archives of the magazine kept by Mrs. Gueudelot and resurfaced around 2020 via the website of the ufology association SCEAU ("Sauvegarde et Conservation des Etudes et Archives Ufologiques", sceau-archives-ovni.org).
The main witness of the observed phenomenon was Mr. Deschamps, residing in Evron in Mayenne, a shopkeeper in that town for many years, and enjoying the respect and esteem of the population.
He was a native of the village of Voutré, located 10 kilometers from Evron in the area of the sighting, which he knew perfectly, having spent over 30 years traveling the surrounding countryside as a dealer in clothing and novelties.
He answered Mr. Bellanger's questions and agreed to make, again in his company, the journey he had taken on the night of the sighting. He told the investigator that everything had remained well anchored in his memory despite the 17 years that had passed.
On Sunday, October 24, 1954, he, his wife, and their daughter attended in Voutré the banquet for the class of 1924. At about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning of October 25, 1954, they got into their "Chenar Walker" van to return to their home in Evron.
They went back through the village to reach, about 1 km away, the N.R. 805 Evron–Sillé-le-Guillaume, which runs at the foot of the Coëvrons hills (altitude 300 m). At about 150 m from the National Route 805, he saw reddish glows dancing on the crest of the hill through the fir trees, "like will-o'-the-wisps."
This seemed strange to him, but at the time he thought it might simply be people walking with lamps or perhaps car headlights.
He continued on his way to the crossroads without thinking more about it, took the National Route 805 toward Evron, and approximately 4.5 km from Voutré, where the road runs along the edge of the Bois de Crun, the three passengers saw, at the exit of the woods, a reddish dome at the top of the last trees.
Soon, near the crossroads of the road to Saint-Gemmes-le-Robert, the phenomenon appeared in its entirety: a bright red ball with the apparent size of the sun, comparable "to a beautiful setting sun."
Mr. Deschamps stated that it was "very red, very beautiful"; he wanted to stop to observe it, but his frightened daughter told him not to and he did not.
His answers to the investigator's various questions indicated the following.
The ball was not dazzling, simply a very vivid red, and it left no luminous trail behind it. He estimated it to be 700 or 800 meters in altitude, but found it difficult to give a distance because beyond the high point the horizon was quite far away.
While it was visible, the ball followed a straight trajectory; the observation lasted perhaps a minute.
While climbing the hill before the woods, he had seen nothing; the observation of the ball began at the exit of the Bois de Crun.
The ball's speed seemed very great to him, but it did not "overtake" his van.
He did not hear any noise from the ball, as the van's windows were closed.
It departed toward a very distant horizon in the west, giving the impression of breaking up or disintegrating; he thinks this impression is false and that it came from the ball passing behind rows of hedges or trees that partially concealed it, leaving only fragments visible at a time.
The investigator considered a "meteorite" (meteor) hypothesis regarding the ball, but Mr. Deschamps "had, in his youth, the opportunity to see a meteorite and assured me that there was nothing comparable."
For the reddish glows seen earlier through the fir trees on the crest, the witness had at the time thought of a normal, ordinary explanation for the phenomenon. The investigator considered the idea of nighttime walkers in such a deserted place at that hour of the night, lighting themselves with powerful lamps, to be highly improbable. Nor could it have been car headlights, since there is neither a road nor a passable path at that precise point. The top of the hill, at an altitude of 292 meters, was at the time largely covered with fir trees and included a small abandoned stone quarry. This terrain was already difficult to access in 1971: rockslides, broom, brambles, ferns, dense undergrowth; while the fir trees had disappeared, victims of a fire.
Another investigator, Jean Sibenhaler, who had received the investigation report, checked the possibility of the Moon and ruled it out because it was not present at the time.
The report is accompanied by a drawing of the red ball by the witness and a map of the movements during the observation, both available below in this file.
[Ref. jbr1:] JEAN BELLANGER - LDLN:
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CAT J.V No
Investigator: Mr. Jean BELLANGER
MARCH 1971.
7, Place Guillaume-le-Doyen
53 LAVAL
AN UNPUBLISHED SIGHTING IN MAYENNE
The main witness of the observed phenomenon, Mr. DESCHAMPS, lives in EVRON (Mayenne), a small town of 5,000 inhabitants located about thirty km northeast of LAVAL and about 60 km from LE MANS. Having worked as a shopkeeper in this town for many years, Mr. DESCHAMPS enjoys the respect and esteem of the population.
Born in the village of VOUTRE, located 10 km from EVRON and which we will mention again later in the account, Mr. DESCHAMPS knows the region perfectly, all the more so because for more than 30 years he traveled the surrounding countryside as a dealer in clothing and novelties.
With all the kindness that characterizes him, he willingly agreed to answer my questions and even accepted to once again make, in my company, the journey he made on the very night of his sighting.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SIGHTING AND ACCOUNT
It is Sunday, October 24, 1954. Mr. and Mrs. DESCHAMPS, accompanied by their daughter Mrs. LANDEAU, are attending in Voutré the banquet for the class of 1924. The reception ends late at night; it is about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning when they get into their "CHENAR WALKER" van to return to their home in EVRON. It is now October 25, 1954.
The vehicle goes back up through the village to reach, about 1 km away, the N.R. 805 EVRON–SILLE-LE-GUILLAUME (Sarthe), which runs at the foot of the Coëvrons hills (altitude 300 m). (Photo No. 1)
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"Everything has remained well anchored in my memory despite the 17 years that have passed," Mr. DESCHAMPS told me. "At about 150 m from the N.R. 805, I saw reddish glows dancing on the crest of the hill through the fir trees, like will-o'-the-wisps."
This seemed strange to the witness but, at the time, he thought it might simply be people walking around with lamps or perhaps car headlights. (Photo No. 2)
He continued on his way to the crossroads without thinking much more about it, then took the N.R. 805 in the direction of EVRON. Approximately 4.5 km from VOUTRE, the road runs along the edge of the Bois de Crun; the three passengers then saw, at the edge of the woods, a reddish dome at the tops of the last trees. Soon, near the crossroads of the road to St. Gemmes-le-Robert, the phenomenon appeared in its entirety: it was a bright red ball, with the apparent size of the sun.
"It was very red, very beautiful," said Mr. DESCHAMPS. "I wanted to stop to have a look, but my frightened daughter said, ‘No, Papa, I beg you, don't stop!'..."
Let us now allow Mr. DESCHAMPS to answer my questions and give us more details about his sighting:
Q - The ball was "very red, very beautiful," you told me. Did it seem dazzling to you?
A – No, it was simply a very vivid red.
Q - Did it light up the landscape? What color was this glow?
A – It seemed to me that this red ball did not leave any luminous trail behind it.
Q - For it to have appeared to you at the top of the trees in the woods, which are not very tall, the craft could not have been very high. At what altitude can you estimate it?
A – Approximately 700 or 800 m.
Q – Do you think the ball was very far from the road? At what distance would you estimate it?
A – It's rather difficult to answer that question because, beyond that high point, the background of the horizon is quite far away.
Q - Was the trajectory straight? Or rather, did it seem straight to you?
A – Yes, in the part where the ball was visible; afterwards I don't know, since there was an interruption (rows of trees) before its complete disappearance into the distance.
Q – For how long were you able to observe the ball?
A – Perhaps a minute....
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Q – Did you see the ball before the woods or only when you reached them?
A – As I was climbing the hill before the woods, I didn't see anything; it was only at the exit from the Bois de Crun.
Q – Was the craft's speed greater than that of your vehicle? Did the ball "overtake" you quickly?
A – The speed seemed very great, but this ball did not "overtake" my van.
Q – To better pinpoint this speed, to what could you approximately compare it: airplane, shooting star, meteorite, etc.?
A – I have never seen anything like it, but to return to the ball, one could rather compare it to a beautiful setting sun.
Q – Did you hear any sound other than that of your vehicle?
A – No sound, the windows were closed.
Q – In your opinion, in what direction did the ball vanish into the night?
A – Toward a very distant horizon to the west.
This ball gave Mr. DESCHAMPS the impression of disappearing into infinity by breaking up, disintegrating; but he thinks in fact that this impression is false and that it came from the fact that the ball was passing behind rows of hedges or trees that partially concealed it, each time leaving only fragments visible. (Photos 3, 4, 5, 6)
COMMENTS
Let us now revisit certain points of this sighting and try to explore them further:
A: THE REDDISH GLOWS DANCING THROUGH THE FIR TREES ON THE CREST
As we have seen, the witness initially thought of an ordinary, normal explanation for the phenomenon.
The hypothesis of nighttime walkers in that deserted place at such an hour, lighting themselves with powerful lamps, seems most improbable. One can think even less of car headlights when one knows that there is neither a road nor a passable path at that precise point. The top of the hill, at an altitude of 292 m, was at the time largely covered with fir trees. There was also a small abandoned stone quarry. The terrain is difficult to access nowadays: rockslides, broom, brambles, ferns, thick undergrowth; the fir trees themselves have disappeared, victims of a fire.
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It should also be recalled that Mr. DESCHAMPS remembers that around the same time, people living on the very opposite side of the hill, at the farm of Bas de la Lande - who happen to be his relatives - while they were visiting their neighbors at the farm of La Frette, saw strange lights on the hill.
B/ HYPOTHESIS OF A METEORITE?
Some will consider it, although Mr. DESCHAMPS was quite clear on the matter. However, how can this be conceived when we know that the witness and his family saw the phenomenon in two different places: first upon leaving VOUTRE, then some time later, several kilometers away, above the Bois de Crun.
Moreover, in his youth Mr. DESCHAMPS had the opportunity to see a meteorite, and he assured me that there was nothing comparable.
C/ RELATION TO THE MERAL PHENOMENON (Mayenne)
Eleven days earlier, on October 14, 1954, a farmer from MERAL witnessed the landing of an orange sphere illuminating the countryside (CAT J.V No. 255).
The phenomena of VOUTRE and MERAL took place at a distance of about 50 km from each other: can they be related? The two sightings are quite different from each other; one single point in common, however - both took place in the early morning. It would also be interesting to know whether, in both cases, geological faults can be noted.
NOTES:
I/ The witness himself indicated the phenomenon on each photo.
II/ I remain at your disposal for further investigation.
III/ Sources used:
Carte de France 1:50,000 sheet XVI, I.G.N.
Michelin Map No. 60, Sillé-le-Guillaume.
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Mr. Jean SIBENALER
21 Avenue Mesnard
49 AVRILLE
April 28
Dear Sir,
A few days ago, I received this follow-up investigation from Mr. BELLANGER. I had been in contact with him for some time. He kept me informed of his work. As you can appreciate - it is serious.
For my part, having already had some dealings with the MOON, I made a few checks that I considered necessary. On October 24, 1954, the moon rose at 4:08 a.m. local time, and moreover, new moon on October 26 - therefore a "dark night." In this regard, we can thus dismiss any such doubt.
Etc......
SIBENALER.J
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[Légende:]
VOUTRE/ ST GEORGES SUR ERVE. PHOTO N° 5
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The absence of a trail, the duration, and the lack of any simultaneous observation lead me to conclude that it was not a meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Voutré, Mayenne,
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 14, 2025 | First published. |
