The article below was published in the daily newspaper Franc-Tireur, Paris, France, page 5, on October 14, 1954.
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Châteaubriant, October 13.
The "Martians" are gradually becoming more civilized. One of them, last night, was kind enough to speak French. It's 13-year-old Gilbert Lelay who tells the incredible story. It was 10:30 p.m. when he saw a phosphorescent cigar-shaped craft, 600 meters from his parents' home in Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray, near Châteaubriant.
He had been observing for several minutes when a man dressed in a suit, gray hat, and boots came down from the craft and warned him:
- Look but don't touch.
The "Martian," who kindly placed his left hand on Gilbert's shoulder, held in his other hand "a ball emitting will-o'-the-wisp lights."
After a short moment, the strange visitor boarded the craft, which - of course - rose vertically "emitting lights in all directions."
All the other saucers observed yesterday, however, were quite unremarkable.
Near Toulouse, in particular, Mr. Pierre Vidal and his nephew, Angel Hurlé reportedly saw, at dawn and about a hundred meters from their house, "a giant rocket which, taking off from a field, quickly disappeared into the sky, producing a bright light." On the ground, the grass "had been flattened in a circular area 5 meters in diameter, with four impressions visible."
Also in the Toulouse region, in Léguevin, Mr. Jean Marty saw one on the ground. He ran. Too late: the bird flew away, but at the spot where the craft had landed, he found two dry sheets of glossy paper in the damp air. They bore inscriptions in Knoc-Nu, an Annamese dialect.
Finally, in the Toulouse suburbs, in Bourrassole, Mr. Olivier, a tank driver, not only saw a "globe of fire" at 80 meters, but also a "metallic-looking diver" who seemed to be heading toward him. Mr. Olivier let out a cry of fear and the "diver" entered the globe, which vanished.
Now Mr. Olivier's (fierce) dog, which had frozen in place, only began barking once the craft had already returned to its celestial domain...
A scooter rider and math teacher, Mr. Louis Bon, from Lisieux, saw a silver disc moving at the speed of a meteor, silently, followed by a white trail of smoke.
Finally, a milk collector from Saint-Etienne, Mr. Jourdy, suddenly - and for no mechanical reason - broke down in Fonfrède, on the road from Chambon-Fougerolles. His headlights went out. He then saw a bright glow in the sky moving away at great speed. Once it had disappeared, the car's headlights came back on and the engine started running smoothly again.
