This document was reproduced in the ufological literature long ago.
Group: Yonne
Compagny: Joigny
On Friday September 30, 1977, at 21 hours, we are advised by the gendarmerie squad of S[ - ] (Yonne) that a luminous phenomena occurs in the sky above the plain extending between the locations of the hamlets of Chatton and Vaudupuits, and of the borough of Champlost (Yonne).
The militaries of S[ - ], the 1st Lieutenant C[ - ] S[ - ] and gendarme M[ - ] were called to Avrolles (Yonne) at 08:35 p.m. and confirm the observations of the witnesses having alerted the gendarmerie on this subject.
From our vehicle, we report back to our company commander, who joined with us on the location.
On location, at the place called "Les Girouds", community of Champlost (Yonne), about fifteen people are observing the universe.
Starting at 09:10 p.m., we note from our observation spot that luminous sets evolve in the Earth's atmosphere at vertiginous speeds. The investigators count seven of them.
These unidentified flying objects (UFOS) are, for some of them, rhombus shaped, which angles are lit by several fires, emitting an glowing whitish light.
Some present in their middle a strong orange red light, definitely visible, sending glares.
Others, circular, give the impression to be decorated on their periphery with a concentric ramp comprising quite a number of lights. Those are of white or yellowish color. They get lost in the infinite.
None changes shape or color.
These UFOS circulate by carrying out very disordered movements, ascending or downward, rotary and spiroidal, at tremendous speeds. They become motionless, start again suddenly... they disappear or reappear suddenly during their evolutions.
During all the observation made by the military of the gendarmerie, no engine noise or any noise at all is heard coming from these UFOS and we do not notice any trail of their passage.
These UFOS do not particularly come from only one direction, in the same way, they disappear towards any point. Their trajectories intersect at altitudes varying from the point of loss of sight to the approach mentioned above and detailed afterwards. They do not collide.
At 08:25 p.m., the investigators and the assistance are surprised by the progression of an UFO, which makes at a sharp pace a broad turn in the sky above the plain Champlost / Mercy / Brienon before approaching in the direction our or observation spot.
The assistance, moved, after having exclaimed, remains silent.
A large glowing reddish luminous ball appears. It stops, then advances again at a reduced speed and horizontally at a distance of approximately six centimetres. At this time, its altitude is evaluated as being 60 meters above the ground.
These vague data do not make it possible at all to calculate the dimensions of this "light" seriously, even approximately.
The UFO is examined by 1st Lieutenant T[-] using the pair of binocular in our equipment: he observes only one orange red sphere, girdled of a clear and narrow halation, without noticing an unspecified activity on or around this.
The mysterious machine stops on the level of the end of a group of poplars and is lost in the darkness. Its slowed down operation lasted a few minutes.
The evolutions of the UFOS cease gradually and the last is seen at 9:45 p.m., time when the sky found its peace again.
This Friday evening, September 30, 1977, the sky is clear and without clouds. There is a moonlight and the temperature is about 9 to 10 degrees [Celsius] approximately.
None of all the witnesses having seen and having examined the phenomena feels something during the "exhibition" nor after, (irritation, excitation, dazzling, headaches, burns, insomnia, allergies or all other effects psychosomatic.)
Except the allegation of only one woman, the owners of animals do not note any change in the behavior of the cats, dogs...
Ourselves, on the location, did not notice particular agitation among the bovines being under the significant zone and within our proximity.
No disordered state of apparatus or vehicles was announced (clock, shows, television set, power failure, engine stall...)
[-], guard of the municipal police force of the town of S[-] (Yonne), takes sights of the phenomena with its personal camera, charged with a film of which the sensitivity is of 600 ASA, but this operation did not produce any impression on the film.
Gendarme [-] having brought his movie camera (double 8) films one of the scenes, but this material is equipped with a reel intended to be used in daylight; the result is negative when developed.
Gendarme [-] also photographs the luminous movements using a color film, but we do not think that that leads to a good result, because the sensitivity of the film is too low (50 ASA).
The three days skywatch ordered after these observations did not give any result.
All the people heard on the attachments, more or less, confirm the noted facts. Some say to have heard deaf engine noises at the time of the observation. They can be extrapolations or really noise of the passage of a plane.
We formally establish that these celestial luminous phenomena do not present any similarity with known aircraft. Indeed, their mode of propulsion, their trajectories, their sudden stops or starting do not allow absolutely comparisons with the usual air means of transport.
We mention that these UFOS were also seen from Sens (the Vosges), whose gendarmerie squad wrote the statement N.1403, Joigny (Yonne), Migonne / Cheny (Yonne), Mount-Saint-Sulpice (Yonne), and Saint-Florentin (Yonne), agglomerations located around the above described area. The main witnesses were heard.
As of follow-up to our observations, our company's commander, then the 1st Lieutenant [-], accounted for the facts to the group commander of Gendarmerie squads in Auxerre.
This day, October 4, we hear at the office of our squad:
S. G[-], deputy commander o the gendarmerie squad of [-]
"On September 30, 1977, at 08:30 p.m., I was telephonically advised by L[-]. J[-], city policeman, that UFOS were evolving above Avrolles (Yonne). L[-] specified to me that he had been just informed of these facts by a person named [-], resident of Champlost, [-], in the extreme limits of the two cantons.
I went on the site with gendarme M[-].
"On our arrival, we noted that flying objects, that we could not by comparing with airplane or helicopters, moved silently in all directions. We counted six or seven of them. They were lit by four lights of white color, thus forming rhombuses. In the center of each one of them, a more important orange red light flickered. According to their position, they were to evolve above Champlost, Chatton and Bligny to set out again finally to the north. Their route was not regular and often varied. Some could be to 1000 or 1500 meters of altitude, others low, without us being able to estimate their level even approximately."
"We were joined by the soldiers of the B.T. [Brigade Territoriale, Territorial Squad] of Brienon, the qualified Squad for the location, that is to say the 1st Lieutenant T[-] and gendarme V[-]. Before their arrival, we noticed, by twice, that another UFO located at high altitude, (since we see only one white sharp gleam) moved at high speed in the direction to Brienon and coming from the sector from Chatton. It became motionless in the south of the observed area. When an aircraft that we all identified thanks to his noise and to the red lights and green located in ends of wing passed by, the UFO started to move again. It followed it for a short while, then it moved at high speed above Brienon / Armençon. At some time, one of the UFOs, lit by four white lights and a central twinkling red light, descended at low altitude. It drifted from Chatton sur Avrolles while passing by Brienon, then took again the direction to Brienon.
"1st Lieutenant T[-] observed the trajectory using his pair of binoculars of equipment, then the UFO itself; this object. at the end of a large turn, became suddenly motionless then continued its route horizontally, at a very low altitude, then disappeared in the atmosphere without apparent displacement.
"We were joined by he named L[-] and C[-] of Saint-Florentin. They stated to have seen a luminous object of orange color whereas they were driving by car between Brienon / Armençon and Avrolles.
"The UFOS were definitively gone after 09:45 p.m.."
October 4, 1977, 08:00 p.m..
This day, October 4, 1977, at 03:20 p.m., we here at his residence:
J.-J. C[-] H[-], aged 52.
"On Monday, September 26, 1977, I was returning from Saint-Florentin (Yonne) by car, accompanied by my son E[-]."
"Starting from Avrolles, while driving, we saw on the right of the road and in the direction of Champlost then Bligny, a large white luminous point and three or four smaller, twinkling points, orange, which appeared to rotate while moving away sometimes, around the large point."
"When an airplane passed by, these UFOS moved towards this one, then returned towards the white point."
"The trajectory of the small elements was disordered, and their speed of gravitation [sic] was very fast."
"Meanwhile, I had stopped at the entry of Brienon to observe."
"We heard absolutely nothing, which adds to the strangeness of the phenomenon, for it cannot have been an airplane not another known aircraft."
"Using your pocket goniometry gauge, I evaluate the importance of the luminous balls to quotations 3 to 1, that is from 3 mm to 15 mm."
"The smallest UFOS were crowned by twinkling lights or simple glares, very scintillating."
"The largest was, without exaggerating, dazzling, of white color, well outlined, without halation."
"The atmospheric conditions were satisfactory in spite of the presence at the horizon of some black clouds, behind which besides all these phenomena grew blurred. More precisely, the large white point left in this direction. The small luminous points disappeared in the atmosphere without displacement."
"My wife was finding the time long, expectedly, as we were observing, she had come to meet us with our son A[-], and she also observed the same phenomena. All her observations are concordant with mine and the proof was given to you from her own verbal statements."
"I do not remember the temperature at the time."
October 4, 1977, at 03:50 p.m..
This day, October 3, 1977 at 12:00, we hear at his residence:
D. E[-], aged 58, retired high ranking officer.
"On September 29, 1977, about midnight, I left the residence of a friend in Mont-Saint-Sulpice (Yonne)."
"At the end of the village, in the direction to Ormoy (Yonne), my attention was drawn by two matt lights above the plain, in the direction of Brienon, which deviated one from the other and went up and went down in the sky."
"This phenomenon, in my opinion, ranged between 500 and 1000 meters of altitude; I observed for a little while."
"I started the car again, hoping to re-examine it at the crossroads of the mount in Brienon, located at approximately 200 meters... it had disappeared."
This day, October 3, 1977 at 08:00, we hear:
L. J[-], aged 45, city police officer.
"It was 08:30 p.m., Friday, September 30, 1977, when we received a phone call from Mr. M[ - ], residing in the place known as "L[-] G[-]", commune of Champlost, but located on the limit of the community of Avrolles / Saint-Florentin. He indicated to us that his family and him were looking at curious luminous machines in the sky, moving abnormally and intersecting their courses."
"Thinking about the famous UFOs on which one speaks so much, without believing in it too much, we went to M[-] accompanied by the gendarmes of the brigade of Saint-Florentin."
"In the sky, we could observe, coming from the direction of Chatton, a large white and silent luminous point moving towards Saint-Florentin. It moved quickly before stabilizing two to three minutes, then it veered in the direction of Sens. During its operations or its stop, no noise was perceived."
"The most disconcerting fact perhaps would undoubtedly be that which occurred at the time of the passage of a plane. The UFO, white ball, was then very low far towards Chatton. When a plane approached, the object advanced in its direction and became motionless. The light died out and was re-ignited only when the plane had crossed path of the UFO. It was then a sudden gushing of white light, followed by a fast restarting of the apparatus, as if it went in pursuit of the plane. That occurred at the time of other passages of planes identifiable by their noise and the green and reds blinking lights used for their air signals."
"Observed with the binocular by the gendarmes, the object had the shape of a large orange surrounded by a white halation."
"While we were attentive to these foreign displacements, we saw a kind of rhombus illuminated it its four corners by a white glare. In the center, was a large orange red source of light. This rhombus, and the three others which we saw then, moved quickly by emitting very fast and lttle separated flickerings, comparable to the multicoloured glares of fairground baracks signs."
"The machines, after having described an arc of circle in the Chailley / Champlost / Brienon direction, came to meet one of the luminous points who was hovering and disappeared in the night."
"It should be noticed that if the planes flew at an altitude which can be evaluated as of 3000 meters approximately, the UFOS (rhombuses and sources of light) evolved much lower, but without holding a stable altitude. They rose at high speed, without noise and very high, and returned sometimes very low, but too far from us."
"One of these rhombuses having lowered its flight altitude, and this, closer to the witnesses, thus it was possible to observe a vague crown of light which disappeared in the horizon hidden by the trees."
"It should be stressed that these people, all in good faith, noticed these machines whereas they flew in the Evry-le-Château / Le Fays / Chailley / Champlost axis, i.e. while following the old road known as "road of the Romans" and while seeming to avoid the overflight of the town of Saint-Florentin."
"All machines making either a U-turn on the level of "La Ferme Rouge," along the road of Avrolles / Brienon, or while arriving from the direction of Challey, have disappeared in the sky from the plain of Chatton / Champlost."
"At 09:45 p.m., all disappeared, but the mystery remains whole."
Written on October 3, 1977, at 08:45 a.m.
This day, October 6, 1977, at 05:30, at the office of our squad, we hear:
G. M[-], aged 52, technical agent at the PTT [French post and communication].
"On September 26, 1977, at approximately 08:15 p.m., 08:30 p.m., I left my residence to go walking the dog. It was almost night. At the same hour, at approximately 08:30 p.m., I saw in the sky gleams which did not puzzle me owing to the fact that I saw them last year. It was at the same hour."
"I looked at these things for half an hour approximately. There were six or seven of them."
"I specify that these enlightened objects were approximately above Avrolles (Yonne). I say "objects" owing to the fact that those moved slowly and without any noise. They were rather often motionles, and when moving, they formed a loop. All were illuminated. They had a dimension from 15 to 20 centimetres in diameter owing to the fact that they were round."
"When I returned at home, these objects were still in the sky. Among them, there was of one which had the shape of a rhombus; the four points were enlightened of white color and a red and non-blinking light was in the center."
"I could not evaluate the distance at which they were, owing to the fact that I do not have binoculars."
"There is nothing else I can think of."
This day, October 6, 1977, at 6 p.m., at our squad's office, we hear:
M. R[-], aged 47, SNCF agent [SNCF is the state railway company.].
"On September 26, 1977, at about 08:30 p.m., I went out of my home to put my motorbike inside."
"At this same hour, I saw enlightened objects of red color being in the sky around the Forest of Othe. There were four of them, two by two. I cannot evaluate the distance with the naked eye. At some time, they died out. I could see them during approximately three quarters of hour. They absolutely did not change their color. They did not make any noise and moved very slowly. They remained motionless at the same place for approximately half an hour."
"They all were round and of a diameter of 15 cm approximately. It is the first time that I see such objects."
"It is absolutely impossible that these were airplanes."
"When I returned home, there remained only two. The two others had disappeared I do not know where. I do not see anything else to specify."
October 6, 1977, at 06:30 p.m..
