The 1954 French flap:

SAUCERS HERE
...CIGARS THERE

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Two saucers were seen yesterday in the sky of Clermont. The first within 10 kilometers of Beaumont, at 03:45 p.m., it moved in a west to east direction.

The witnesses stated that the machine approached them and became less and less brilliant.

When it was not any more than within 150 meters they felt a "weird feeling" and were like nailed on the spot.

At this time an odor of nitro-benzene emerged. Soon the machine moved away, faintness ceased and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer was seen above the hills of Chanturgu close to Clermont. It moved vertically and was of a brilliant white color.

A saucer was also seen in Billom by a group of 30 people. The machine moved above the city. It moved horizontally. It was visible during three or four minutes before disappearing. An intense light emerged from the apparatus.

In St-Brieux several people saw a flying saucer which took the shape of a cigar before disappearing. They were able to observe it during more than one hour.

The same phenomenon was noted in Trégueux where a cyclist returned home frightened by what he had seen.

In Thouare-sur-Vie, (the Vendée) witnesses saw in the sky ten luminous objects having a lengthened shape and passing at a very high speed and high altitude.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 under the title SAUCERS AND CIGARS

Several Parisians saw "saucers" evolving in the sky of the capital

Paris, October 6 (A.F.P) - Several Parisians said they saw yesterday afternoon flying saucers moving in the sky of the capital, passersby claimed to have seen one around 4:30 p.m., near the Porte Dorée.

Mr. Pierre Allouis, a cartoon trader, went to his business by taxi, when the vehicle was stopped by a red traffic light. Hearing, he said, a hissing whistling sound, he looked through the door and saw a flying machine flying high, leaving in its wake a plume of smoke.

Mr. Allouis describes the saucer as a disc larger than a normal plane, silver-colored.

The same testimony was given by Mr. Gilbert Bacon, residing at 25, Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and by Mr. Paul Julien, a painter, who lives at 3, rue de la Pompe. The latter, however, believes that it is not a flying saucer but a flying wing that has the shape of a triangle with rounded edges.

At Le Bourget, it is explained that, given the intensity of air traffic, it is impossible to confirm by radar the passage of the craft at the insufficiently precise hour. On the other hand, the radar cannot record the passage of a heavier than the air more than by a luminous spot whatever the nature of the craft is.

[Missing part]

time. The first 10 kilometers from Beaumont at 3:45 p.m. It was moving in a westerly direction.

Witnesses said the craft moved closer to them and became less and less brilliant.

When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a curious sensation and were nailed to the spot. At this point there was an odor of nitro-benzine. Soon the craft moved away, the discomfort ceased and the saucer disappeared. The other saucer was seen above the coasts of Chanturgues, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was of a brilliant white.

A saucer was also spotted in Billom by a group of 30 people. The craft moved over the city. It moved horizontally. It was visible for three or four minutes before disappearing. An intense light emanated from the apparatus.

Our readers write to us

Mr. Desbordes of St-Bonnet-de-Bellac said he had seen last Sunday a luminous disk heading for Mézières-sur-Issoire. The machine stopped for several minutes before disappearing to the west. Several people have observed the phenomenon.

3906: 1954/10/02 10:00 1 3:04:20 E 45:46:20 N 3333 WEU FRN PDD 7:9

CLERMONT-FERRAND,FR:SVRL OBS:SLVR UFO OSC HVR THEN ^^>NNE TO SPACE:BACK 03OCT

Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 125 : TOWN &CITY

*Oct. 2, 1954 - At 10:00 o'clock in the morning several people in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dome department, France saw a luminous, metallic object oscillating in the sky, then fly off rapidly to the north-northwest. (Source: Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 107).

Strange Auvergne

1954, the year when UFOs invaded us

WEIRD CLERMONT-FERRAND

Posted on 08/16/2017 at 07:00

1954, the year shen UFOs invaded us

This summer, we offer several stories from our special issue L'Auvergne Etrange, devoted to the most mysterious affairs of the region. Unknown creatures, haunted houses, witchcraft... Today, an an onlook at the extraterrestrials.

We are in 1954. Abbot Pierre launches his call during the cold wave hitting the country. In May, France capitulates in Indochina. In June, Mendes France is elected President of the Council. In November, the Algerian war begins. But from September on, a much lighter (but spectacular) news is installed in the columns of the newspapers, with a metronome regularity.

A light in the sky

For example, October 2, around 10 a.m., in Clermont-Ferrand. At the modern college, during recess, girls stop playing. Something is irresistibly attracting their attention. At the same moment, Rue Diomede, Madame S. looks up in her turn. A strange light shines in the sky. She thinks first of all to discern an advertising balloon. But by paying attention, the object is very different: it is a metal mass, almost motionless, animated by a slight oscillatory movement. Suddenly, the craft picks up speed and disappears from her field of vision. In neighboring houses, other neighbors report a similar scene.

UFOs seriously studied in Auvergne

Eighth episode of the saga of autumn. Another UFO. The year 1954 remains the period when we recorded the most reports in France. 2.000 cases were reported by the press.

Between September and November, the apparitions multiply, from the most disturbing to the most far-fetched. Bright craft are seen by several people at the same time, from Moulins to Puy-en-Velay.

A schoolboy pursued by a flying saucer

And mysterious facts do not just happen in the sky. On the 12th of October, in Montluçon, a railwayman discovered on the railway a person covered with hair who spoke an incomprehensible language. Panicked, the railwayman flees as a luminous machine takes off behind him. In Saint-Palais (Allier), a schoolboy says that a flying saucer has pursued him. In Le Donjon (Allier), hunters reportedly fired at a craft and recovered metal debris.

The panic is such that it reaches the Assemblée Nationale. Three Gaullist MPs ask the Minister of Air for insights into these intrusions. One of them demands that the craft be chased by the army.

Five unsolved UFO cases in Auvergne

The press is in flames. But as the days go by, cases get deflated. Here it was not a saucer but a meteorite. There, an airship. Elsewhere, a balloon. Not to mention the hoaxes. Thus, the hairy creature of Montluçon was only a colleague of work of the witness, disguised with goatskin. And his flying machine was a fireworks rocket. As for the hunters who shot down a craft, they end up confessing their lie.

UFO sightings in Auvergne?

Suddenly, the press gets tired. The stories are becoming scarce. In November, the Parisian doctor Heuyer sealed the end of the wave in front of the Academy of Medicine by putting a name on the phenomenon: "collective psychosis".

However! UFO specialists do not lay down their weapons. Those who believe it say it: out of 2,000 cases, there must be a sign from elsewhere!

The thirty most mysterious stories that have occurred in our region are to be discovered in our special issue L'Auvergne Etrange, to order online on our shop.

Thibaut Solano