The 1954 French flap:

LUMINOUS CRAFT
IN THE SKY OF THE ARTOIS

TWO GENDARMES
OF FONCQUEVILLERS
WITNESS THE PHENOMENON

Saturday evening, around 9:30 p.m., the chief Decrequy and the gendarme Candelle, of the brigade of Foncquevillers, controlled [sic] the identity of a household of fairground merchants who had stopped their trailer on the village square of Pommier.

Suddenly, the woman noticed a luminous object which passed in the sky. Indeed, the two gendarmes as well as Mr. Dumetz, municipal councilor of Pommier, who was near there clearly saw a luminous craft of orange hue which moved quickly from East to West at an altitude of approximately 300 meters. After 4 to 5 seconds, the phenomenon disappeared from their sight.

ISIT THE SAME
THAT WAS SEEN IN MAUBEUGE?

Mr. Marcel Hanske, trumpeter and professor at the Ecole Municipal [sic] in Louvroil saw with his wife and young son around 9:20 on Saturday, as he went to bed a "ball of fire" crossing the sky at breakneck speed.

Mr. Marcel Hanske who is trustworthy, lives in rue des Alliés, in Maubeuge and Sunday, with real sincerity, he did not fail to report the matter to his friends in the Harmonie of Louvroil.

AFTER THE SAUCERS, THE "FLYING MELON"

Strasbourg, October 18. -- After cigars, brooms, barrels, now "melons" are appearing, this time in the Alsace sky. In fact, several people, including some pilots from the Strasbourg Aero Club, claim to have seen, on Saturday evening, a shiny object shaped like a melon, leaving behind a red-orange trail about two meters long, flying over the Bas-Rhin region.

This object was reportedly seen, at almost the same time, in Strasbourg, Haguenau, and Wissembourg.

The "flying saucer" was moving at high altitude and heading, according to some, southeast, and according to others, east to west.

An identical phenomenon was observed in Niederhaslach (Bruche Valley).

A car engine stops and headlights go out

DIEPPE. -- At nightfall, while driving through the village of Baillolet on Route N. 314, Mr. Henri Robert, a veterinarian from Londinières, saw four objects flying one above the other at an altitude of about 300 meters.

Mr. Robert claims that one of them zigzagged in front of his car, that he felt a strong electric shock, and that his car engine stopped. The veterinarian then saw a strange figure on the road, about 1.20 meters tall. The car's headlights went out; when they came back on, a cylinder about three meters long was taking off from the embankment and heading north.

CHATELLERAULT. -- On Saturday evening, around 8:30 p.m., three firefighters from Chatellerault saw a large disc rise into the sky toward the Château de Targe, emitting sparks and followed by a very long luminous trail.

PARIS. -- Two employees at Orly airport, Mr. Raymond Castelle and Mr. Charles Birest, claimed to have seen, on Saturday night around 9:30 p.m., a flying saucer cross the Orly sky from east to west "at the speed of a jet plane." Upon reaching the commune of Paray-Vieille-Poste, at the edge of the west-east runway, the mysterious object, which according to the witnesses was flying at an altitude of 300 meters, stopped, projecting rays that were strongly reflected on the ground.

ARRAS. -- On Sunday night around 9:25 p.m., in Pommier (Pas-de-Calais), the head of the gendarmerie and a gendarme saw a luminous orange object moving at very high speed from east to west, at about 500 meters altitude.

To excuse his lateness

The road worker claimed to have seen a "saucer"

Dijon, October 18. -- Ten days ago, Mr. André Narcy, 47 years old, a road worker in Mertrud, arrived at work out of breath: "I saw a flying saucer," he claimed. And he gave detailed descriptions: an orange-colored object, stationary in a field, a small being dressed in a fur coat, the mysterious device taking off vertically. Moreover, Mr. Narcy could show the location. Along with two of his colleagues, Mr. Riel and Mr. Henry, he went back. All three declared that indeed the dew had dried in a certain area, the grass had taken on "a slightly milky hue," and that one could see traces of "round feet," etc.

When questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy has now admitted that he fabricated the entire story to justify his late arrival at work.

A "saucer" dries up a farm's watering trough in the Po Delta

Rome, October 18. -- Four flying objects were seen last night in the skies over various regions of northern Italy.

Two discs, said by witnesses to have a "metallic shine," were seen in Mainate, on the outskirts of Milan.

The third "disc" crossed the sky over Trento after hovering above the city for 43 minutes.

Finally, a flying saucer appeared in the sky over Camogli, near Genoa.

Additionally, a farmer who witnessed the passage of a "flying disc" over the Po Delta last Saturday told a surprising story. He said he saw the disc descend to roof height of his farmhouse, then slow down at great speed. In the blink of an eye, he specified, the watering trough, which had been full of water, was dried up, while a cow that was under the object's path began to run frantically after sustaining deep wounds on its body.

A parliamentarian asks a written question about "saucers"

Foix, October 18. -- Following numerous sightings of saucers and other flying objects of unknown type currently reported in all regions of France, Mr. René Dejean, a Socialist Member of Parliament from Ariège, has submitted a written question to the Prime Minister, asking in particular:

- Whether or not a service has been created to collect existing documentation on the subject, and to study the nature and origin of these objects.

- Whether the information currently collected and compiled is sufficient to completely rule out the hypothesis that these objects are piloted or controlled by living beings of unknown species and origin.

- Whether, on the contrary, the government has enough information to attribute the manufacture of these objects to the industry of a foreign state.

- And, in this latter case, whether the international agreements signed by France have already allowed for consultations regarding the use of such objects in the event of a conflict.

[Caption under drawing:] - Your face is unfamiliar... You must be new to the area?

Saturday evening,
two gendarmes
and a city coucilman
of Pommier saw
a luminous object

It was around 9:30 p.m., Saturday evening, the marshal of logis-chief Decréquy accompanied by the gendarme Candelle were making a night tour in the commune of Pommier.

On the square of this locality they noticed a trailer of fairground merchants. While they were busy checking the identity of the fairground merchant household, the woman drew the attention of the gendarmes to a luminous object passing in the sky.

Indeed, chief Decréquy, gendarme Candelle, as well as Mr. Louis Dumetz, city councilman in Pommier and the fairground couple saw a luminous craft of orange color moving very fast from East to West (direction Monchy-au-Bois-Saint-Amand) at a height of about 400 to 500 meters.

Only three to four seconds passed before the "saucer" (?) disappeared from view.

A "BALL OF FIRE"
IN THE SKY
OF SOUS-LE-BOIS

After Robert Romain, the sympathetic violinist of Maubeuge saw, a few weeks ago already, two brilliant discs moving at high speed in the rue du Grand-Pied, it happens that Mr. Marcel Hanske, trumpeter and professor at the municipal school of Louvroil, saw, with his wife and young son, on Saturday around 9:20 a.m., while he was going to bed, a "ball of fire crossing the sky at breakneck speed.

NEAR ARRAS

Gendarmes
see
a luminous "craft"
in the sky

Sunday, around 9:25 p.m., while the chief marshal of the gendarmerie Decréquy and the gendarme Candelle, of the Foucquevillers brigade, on a night tour, checked the identity of the fair mearchants parked on the square of Pommiers, the fairground merchant wife's called the attention of the gendarmes on a luminous craft that passed in the sky.

The gendarmes and Mr. Louis Dumetz, municipal councilor in Pommiers, saw a bright orange craft moving very quickly from East to West at a height of 400 to 500 meters.

This saucer ! was visible for quite a long time.

The brigadier and a gendarme
from Foncquevillers have seen
an orange luminous object

Chief Decréquy and gendarme Clavel, of the Foncquevillers brigade, in surveillance at Pommier, saw an orange luminous craft in the sky of the region at 400 or 55 meters in height.

They were with Mr. Louis Duez, city councilor, at 9:25 p.m. precisely, when the craft, moving at an insane speed, crossed the sky while going from the east towards the west.

This glow only lasted 3 or 4 seconds, but did not look like a saucer. It was also impossible to detail its shape, actually.

again and always
the saucers!

- In Pommier, head marshal Decrequy, commander of the gendarmerie brigade of Fonquevillers, and showmen whose identity he was checking, saw Saturday, around 9:25 p.m., a craft that moved quickly and silently from Monchy-au-Bois to Humbercamp. A cyclist returning from La Cauchie confirmed the fact.

- The same day, at 9:30 p.m., in St-Pol-sur-Ternoise, from different places of the town, a luminous shape moving at considerable speed was seen by several people.

- In Amiens, Mr. Anquetil, waiter; Ms. Fournier, mechanic, in Fosse-Bleuets; Mr. Delattre, farmer, and Mr. Dewindt, from Courcelles-sous-Moyencourt, in Thieulloy-la-Ville; a motorist, Mr. Covemacker, and several people reported the appearance of saucers.

- In Bouzincourt, Mr. Venderworat and his son, loading beet greens, noticed a milky white disc hanging from about thirty meters from the ground. The cultivator turned off the lights of his tractor, saw the glow descend and, finally, disappear. The two men resumed their work and returned to Bouzincourt; then they saw the white glow that seemed to follow them for some time and finally disappeared. Another farmer who was plowing his field in the same area said he saw nothing: he only made it clear that he occasionally turned on the tail light of his tractor to make sure his plowing was correct. Should we conclude from the comparison of the facts to an optical illusion?

The Martians
paid a visit
to Curzio Malaparte...

...who was not there

CURZIO MALAPARTE missed the book of his life.

A flying saucer stuffed with "Martians" like a subway train at six in the evening landed on the terrace of his summer villa in Capri. And Malaparte was not there! Disappointed, the Martians who probably wanted to have "The Skin" signed off, left.

It was a painter, Raffaele Castello, who saw them. He was walking at night at Cape Maroulo when he saw a huge disc five meters in diameter delicately landing on the Malapartean villa. Four of the Martians - they were short, dressed in overalls and speaking in low voices - entered the writer's house. Half an hour later, they left without having even taken a book. They climbed back into the craft which, casting classic bluish gleams, rose as perpendicular as it was silent and disappeared towards Sicily. Farewell Martians!

Various saucers and cigars have flown all over Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain (these are the first, the Franco regime seemed to intimidate the Martians so far) and naturally in France. Our happy compatriots who were favored with their vision are Pierre Pouquet in Saint-Germain-les-Belles (Haute-Vienne), Perrichou and Mrs., in Uzel (Côtes-du-Nord), Meunier in Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult (Vendée) [Charente-Maritime], Boulineau in Luçon, Jean Aufard in Sisternes-la-Forêt (Pas-de-Calais), Perrault and Villerot in Brain, near Decize, Decréquy, marshall of the gendarmerie in Pommier (Pas-de-Calais), Filatte, farmer in Noyeux (Eure).

This Mr. Filatte, running across the fields to observe the saucer, fell into a pond and almost drowned.

The "saucers"
drove their first
victim of asylum

LIVORNO. October 19. (AFP.) - "They are persecuting me... They are coming to get me... I saw them land in a field... Saucers, large and small... Lights and smoke... The Martians... The Martians...", it is by shouting these pieces of sentences expressing his deep agitation that Mr. Bruno Senesi, 34, came to the hospital in Livorno, asking to be helped. But when the nurse returned with the doctor on duty, Senesi was gone. He was found hidden under a bed, shaken by violent shivers.

At the asylum, his condition causes concern.

Saucers, cigars, etc.

They fly away!

MM. Jean Augard, farmer in Sisternes-la-Forêt [sic] (Puy-de-Dôme), and Jean Chanzotte, former miner, declared to have seen, in a field by the roadside, a craft of ovoid shape surmounted by a dome of a brilliant white color. As the two men approached the "saucer", it rose vertically and disappeared in a northeast direction, leaving behind a reddish trail.

In Gelles, a neighboring town, several people had seen a similar craft, also posed in a field.

In the Vendée, [Error: in Charente-Maritime] in Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult, a mysterious craft that was rising vertically behind a hedge, was seen by Mr. Meunier, foreman in a masonry company.

While pursuing the saucer...
he "drinks the cup"

Several people were running through fields in Moyaux (Calvados), in the direction of a flying saucer which had been pointed out to them by a child.

One of them, a farmer, Mr. Filate, who never took his eyes off the sky, fell into a deep pond where he almost drowned. Fortunately, his companions managed to save him.

"Melon and tandem"

A "melon" made its appearance this time in the skies of Alsace. Indeed, several people, including a few pilots from the Strasbourg Aero-Club, claim to have seen on Saturday evening a shiny craft, having the shape of a melon, and leaving a trace of two meters of white-orange color, fly over the region of the Bas-Rhin.

Two residents of St-Cirgues (Haute-Loire), saw in the sky, at very high altitude, two luminous balls which seemed interconnected by a rod. The craft remained motionless for a quarter of an hour then disappeared at very high speed.

Brigadier are you right?

Monday evening, around 9:25 p.m., in Pommier (Pas-de-Calais), the brigadier head of the gendarmerie and a gendarme saw an orange luminous craft moving at a very high speed from East to West at about 500 meters of altitude.

In the sky of Italy

One also reports the passage of saucers in the Italian sky, above Milan, Trento, Genoa and the Po delta.

One of these craft reportedly even have landed in Capri at night, of course. It is a painter, Mr. Raffaële Castello, who allgedly saw the saucer land on the terrace of the villa of Malaporte [sic, Malaparte]. The painter, who had thought it was a helicopter, approached and was surprised to see four men, small in size, descend from the disc. The passengers of the craft, who were dressed in an outfit, remained around the disc for about half an hour. Bluish gleams escaped the disc incessantly, pin-like and lightning-fast, they went off in all directions.

After some time, about half an hour, the four men re-entered the disc which, with a slight hum, rose slowly, perpendicularly, and then quickly gained altitude.

Report!

Mr. Holaubek, Vienna's Prefect of Police, ordered officers under his command to report all the flying saucer stories and all the statements by people claiming to have seen "visitors from another world."

October 18, [1954]

? [= unknown hour]: Pommier (28 km SO.Arras--Pas-de-Calais):meteor?