The 1954 French flap:

SAUCERS (continued)

IN ALL FOUR CORNERS OF FRANCE

A Martian with a hairy face allegedly followed a baker from Finistère into his bakery

The "flying saucers" file continues to grow. So does the mystery. Luminous craft - including cigars, cigarillos, discs, spheres, etc. - suddenly appear before the (increasingly less surprised) eyes of mostly credible witnesses.

From these objects, frightening "beings" sometimes emerge, not hesitating to briefly pat a good earthling on the shoulder before vanishing into the atmosphere. That is exactly what reportedly happened once again yesterday morning. Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker's assistant in Loctudy (Finistère), was drawing water when he saw a saucer, 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter, land in front of him. He saw an individual, about 1.2 meters tall, emerge and walk up to him nonchalantly, tapping him on the shoulder while speaking in what was presumably unintelligible language.

The baker's assistant kept his cool and returned to the bakery, where the "stranger" followed him. In the light, Mr. Lucas could make out the visitor's face. It was oval, entirely covered with hair, and had eyes "the size of a crow's egg." The young man called his boss, but before he had time to come down, the presumed Martian had vanished, presumably aboard his saucer, which left no trace.

While sightings of saucers multiply - as our correspondents' reports show - scientists continue to investigate the mysterious phenomenon, but we are still far from offering a reasonable explanation.

It is certain that some witnesses have been mistaken. For example, an investigation in Dunkirk, following statements by a local merchant who claimed that "strange luminous objects were seen in the sky over Bray-Dunes," concluded they were two military planes, whose metallic coating might have caused an illusion.

Cigars, spinning tops, discs, and flying tails

• A CIGAR WITH PROPELLERS was seen over Forges, 20 kilometers from Tulle, flying at low altitude without noise or smoke.
• SEVERAL PARISIANS claimed to have seen saucers yesterday around 4:30 p.m. in the sky above the capital. However, air traffic was heavy, so mistakes are possible.
• OIL TRACES were found in Nessier, in the Poitevin marsh, at the very spot where Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau saw a red saucer the day before.
• A CIGAR was seen near Berck-Plage by Mr. Georges Galand, a butcher from Rue, who was driving. The mysterious craft was flying at low altitude and followed the national road for eight kilometers.
• A SPINNING TOP emitting red and green rays was seen in Marseille by four people.
• TWO DISCS that sometimes turned into cigars were seen near Arles by several motorists.
• TWO FLYING TAILS were seen by a beer merchant from Concarneau. They disappeared after ten minutes, having launched a flare.
• A FOUL-SMELLING SAUCER (it smelled of nitrobenzene) was seen by Mr. Bron and Mr. Martaurond from Clermont-Ferrand, who were paralyzed for a few seconds. Numerous similar craft have been seen in the area, especially in Le Puy.
• FINALLY, DISCS, CIGARS, SPHERES, ETC., were seen in Quend (Somme), Grandvillars (Territoire de Belfort), Magnac-Laval (Haute-Vienne), Saint-Jean-d'Angély (Charente-Maritime), Perros-Guirec (Côtes-du-Nord), Nazin (Corrèze), Lezignan (Aude), Bergerac (Dordogne), Nevers, Saint-Etienne, Aurec-sur-Loire (Loiret), Montbrison, and finally in La Rochelle and several neighboring towns.