The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 2-Oct-54-Chalon-sur-Saône.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
According to the regional newspaper La Bourgogne Républicaine, of Dijon, for October 8, 1954, there had been sightings of a "saucer" or "cigar" in the region of Châlon-sur-Saône, reported by their press correspondent.
An resident of Saint-Marcel-lès-Chalon had seen in the sky above this locality, an object "like I have never seen" (sic), surrounded "by smaller objects which resembled birds and had silvery reflections."
In their book of "debunking" of the 1954 French wave "La Grande Peutr Martienne" ("The Great Martian Scare"), in 1979, Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker said that according to the newspaper Le Courier de Saône-et-Loire for October 6, 1954, on October 2, 1954, "Mysterious craft flew over the Chalonnaise area, we were able to collect the impressions of one of the witnesses of this strange object."
They quote: "I cannot, he told us, state that it is a flying saucer; I simply say that it is an object like I never saw before. I was in Chalon, the object was located approximately above Saint-Marcel. It appeared as an open parachute but without parachutist. Around the object were other smaller objects. With the distance one could have mistaken them for birds appearing to evolve. I noted that during their evolutions and in the sunlight, they had silvery reflections. I cannot specify anthing else. On the point of taking my bicycle to approach, I feared an useless travel and that all would disappear before my arrival."
In 1982, the ufology group ADRUP gave the same story, as coming from the newspaper Le Bien Public for October 6, 1954; which would have concluded as follows:
"The only thing we will add is that we know the reliability of the witness, who is not used to mistaking bladders for lanterns."
The primary source was the regional newspaper Le Courrier de Saône-et-Loire for October 6, 1954; which reported:
We previously reported that a strange craft had been spotted in recent days over the Châlons region. The growing buzz around flying saucers, whose appearances seem to be multiplying, gave particular significance to this information.
We were able to gather the impressions of one of the witnesses to this unusual object.
"I cannot say," he told us, "whether it was a flying saucer; I only know that it was an object unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was in Châlons; the object was roughly above St-Marcel. It appeared in the shape of an open parachute but without any parachutists. Around it, there were several smaller objects - at a distance, they could have been mistaken for birds - moving around. I noticed that as they moved and caught the sunlight, they reflected a silvery sheen."
"I cannot provide further details; I was about to take my bicycle to get closer but feared making the trip in vain, as everything might have disappeared before I arrived."
We present this account as it was given to us. The only thing we would add is that we trust the witness's sincerity; he is not one to mistake bladders for lanterns.
Moreover, we know that many people observed these phenomena on Sunday morning.
[Ref. csl1:] JOURNAL "LE COURRIER DE SAONE-ET-LOIRE":
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We previously reported that a strange craft had been spotted in recent days over the Châlons region. The growing buzz around flying saucers, whose appearances seem to be multiplying, gave particular significance to this information.
We were able to gather the impressions of one of the witnesses to this unusual object.
"I cannot say," he told us, "whether it was a flying saucer; I only know that it was an object unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was in Châlons; the object was roughly above St-Marcel. It appeared in the shape of an open parachute but without any parachutists. Around it, there were several smaller objects - at a distance, they could have been mistaken for birds - moving around. I noticed that as they moved and caught the sunlight, they reflected a silvery sheen."
"I cannot provide further details; I was about to take my bicycle to get closer but feared making the trip in vain, as everything might have disappeared before I arrived."
We present this account as it was given to us. The only thing we would add is that we trust the witness's sincerity; he is not one to mistake bladders for lanterns.
Moreover, we know that many people observed these phenomena on Sunday morning.
FLYING TOPS IN THE SKY OVER MERCUREY
One of our readers from Mercurey wrote to inform us of the following events, which he personally witnessed in recent days in Mercurey, where he resides.
In broad daylight, under a clear sky, our correspondent reported observing two objects spinning at extremely high speed side by side, like tops, emitting violet, yellow, and red flashes, and seemingly heading toward Le Creusot. These objects appeared to be at an altitude of 300 to 400 meters, slightly domed on top, and had a diameter of approximately 5 to 8 meters. "No rattling noise," our correspondent added, "like that of jet planes and other aircraft that pass daily over Mercurey."
We thank our reader for this fascinating report and note that these mysterious craft are increasingly approaching the skies of Châlons. Perhaps we will soon have the pleasure of seeing them maneuver above our city.
[Ref. bre1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":
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Chalon-sur-Saône (from our P.C.). -- As one might expect, and one is even astonished to have waited so long, Châlons and its region are adding today a chapter to the novels of saucers and other flying cigars.
It is a resident of Saint-Marcel-les-Chalon who saw, in the sky above this locality, a object "like I have never seen" (sic), surrounded by "smaller objects that looked like birds and had silvery highlights."
A resident of Mercurey is much more categorical and lavish of explanation, who saw "two flying tops lying at an altitude of approximately 300 meters, with a diameter of 5 to 6 meters, the top slightly domed, throwing purple and yellow-red gleams, and seeming to move towards Le Creusot.
Other very fleeting appearances are also reported on the Bresse, homeland of the chicken and the "noa."
Nevers (from our P.C.). -- A resident of Corbigny (Nièvre) declared to have seen, in broad daylight, while she was hanging laundry in her garden, a luminous cigar-shaped craft, elongated, moving at high speed. It carried two discs in its lower part. Rising vertically, this cigar went out and disappeared.
An employee of a state administration also claimed to have observed, at the place called "Les Chaumes", a luminous disc of large dimensions, yellow-orange in color, walking at breakneck speed. This craft left behind a dazzling white light.
Finally, a craftsman-carpenter saw a cylindrical-shaped craft, flying at very high altitude. It emitted orange-red glows, was heading northeast.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors quote the newspaper "Le Courier de Saône-and-Loire" for October 6, 1954, for this observation of October 2, 1954:
"Mysterious machines flew over the area of Chalon. We could collect the impressions of one of the witnesses of this strange object."
"- I cannot, he told us, state that it is a flying saucer; I simply say that it is an object like I never saw before. I was in Chalon, the object was located approximately above Saint-Marcel. It appeared as an open parachute but without parachutist. Around the object were other smaller objects. With the distance one could have mistaken them for birds appearing to evolve. I noted that during their evolutions and in the sunlight, they had silvery reflections. I cannot specify anthing else. On the point of taking my bicycle to approach, I feared an useless travel and that all would disappear before my arrival."
[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7 [publishing date]: MYSTERIOUS CRAFT OVERFLEW THE REGION OF CHALON -
We reported in a previous issue, that a curious apparatus was seen above the region of Chalons. The noise made around the flying saucers, whose flights seem to be multiplying, had given particular importance to this information. We were able to collect the impressions of one of the witnesses. "I cannot tell that it was a flying saucer. I just know it's an object like I've never seen before. I was in Châlon, the object is was located approximately above St Marcel. It was in the form of an open parachute, but without a skydiver. Around the object, others smaller objects, with the distance one could take them for birds, seemed to move. I noticed that during their evolutions and in the sunlight, they had silvery reflections. I cannot specify anything more. I'm about to take my bike to come closer, fearing to make a useless trip and that everything has disappeared before my arrival." We give this report as it was done. The only thing we will add is that we know the reliability of the witness, who is not used to mistaking bladders for lanterns.
The source is said to be the newspaper Le Bien Public.
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Several explanations are possible: airplanes, a flock of birds, cobweb in the wind...
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, birds, parachute, Saint-Marcel, manoeuvers, reflections, daylight
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 9, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 27, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 2, 2019 | Additions [via1], Summary. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | January 14, 2021 | Addition [bre1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [bre1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | April 12 2025 | Addition [bre1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [bre1]. |
