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UFOs in the daily Press:

The 1954 French flying saucers flap, 1954:

The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Patriote de Nice, Nice, France, page 1, on September 30, 1954.

Scan.

First victim of the flying saucers: a driver falls ill (from fear)

The flying saucer season is in full swing. Hoaxes, regularly revealed the day after the "sighting" (the one in Lisbon, mentioned yesterday, being the latest), do not discourage thrill-seekers.

Be that as it may, the "flying saucers" have claimed a victim.

Indeed, Mr. Gérard, a mechanic, and Mr. Paroux, a driver, were operating a light engine train coming from Nantes when they saw, as they passed a place known as "la Butte du Rouge" in the commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), a "craft" rising from the nearby marshes.

This craft, of considerable length and followed by a luminous trail, flew for about ten seconds above the train before disappearing into the sky.

While the mechanic remained perfectly calm, the driver was so frightened that he fell ill and had to undergo a medical checkup yesterday morning.

And as for "saucers" and "cigars" - they are now appearing everywhere. They have been reported from Perpignan, Villefranche-de-Lauragais, Châtellerault, where, believe it or not, a farmer saw an "interplanetary diver" (take that, Martians)...

Finally, over the Dauphiné region, mysterious craft staged a full aerial festival [sic].

It's worth noting, moreover, that the term "flying saucer" gets applied to all sorts of things: from a spark from a locomotive to the trajectory of a meteor, or even the most ordinary helicopter. All it takes is a bit of imagination...

In Gonfaron, even donkeys fly!

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