UFOs in the daily Press:

Is this the "saucer" Menton was waiting for?

A fireball "flies over" Cap Martin

Menton finally has "its" flying saucer... But is it really a flying saucer that the managers and part of the staff of the Hawaï Hotel in Menton-Garavan saw Monday night around 10:30 p.m. over Cap Martin?

They themselves couldn't say for sure...

But what is undeniable is that they definitely saw, at exactly 10:25 p.m., over Cap-Martin (about five kilometers away as the crow flies), a red, glowing ball the size of a plate (seen from that distance).

This fireball remained motionless for two or three minutes. Then, gradually, it changed color and became very bright white. At the same time, it began to move slowly in the direction of Italy.

Two or three minutes after it appeared, the fireball, which had turned white, vanished just as it had appeared...

We interviewed those who witnessed this appearance. We couldn't meet the first person who saw it, Mr. Antoine Aimar, since he was resting after his night shift.

But we were able to reach Mr. and Mrs. Fouillène, the managers of the Hawaï Hotel, and Mr. Toulet, the bartender at the Garavan establishment.

All three were adamant:

"At first we thought it was a lighthouse. But there can't be a lighthouse that high in the sky. It might also have been a forest fire. But there was no doubt once we saw the fireball slowly turn white, as if it were turning over, and when it started to move...

"Our head chef, Mr. Genovesi, was with us, as well as a customs officer from Cap-Martin... They can confirm the same thing...

"We tried to get our guests to come out onto the terrace to witness it," said Mr. Fouillène, "but by the time we got to the dining room, the fireball had disappeared..."

"We emphasize that it wasn't moving at high speed. At least, that was not the impression we had..."

Fireball, meteor, flying saucer, or aerolyte? [sic] ... Chi lo sa? [Who knows?]... In any case, Menton has now seen "its" flying saucer.

Maurice VIDAL