UFOs in the daily Press:

LENS

Flying news

Open a newspaper, any newspaper, and it's rare not to find some stories about flying saucers, flying cigars, flying pots - and it seems that someone even reported a flying bus. That's something the pranksters hadn't foreseen. Oh! Sweet times when one can shamelessly exploit human gullibility.

Is this a new kind of psychological warfare aimed at weak minds or a way to fill insane asylums?

Some people claim to have seen Martians - and they believe it. Some are stocky with shiny heads, others wear helmets, still others are hairy! And there are all kinds of declarations, each more fanciful than the last.

But why Martians rather than Moon-men or any other beings from another planet? Let's not forget, Earth is also a planet - and we are its inhabitants.

It's possible that other planets are inhabited too, but from there to claim that this or that extraordinary being has come to visit us - I can't believe it.

Why would they flee at our approach, after all? If they are Martians - Mars being the god of war - they should, on the contrary, honor their patron and stand their ground in the face of a human being. Oh, naivety - one of them supposedly dropped seeds with intelligence! Where will it all end? Let's hope that intelligence is witty, not warlike.

I think it's about time this absurdity stopped.

As for me, the only saucer I know is the one placed under a cup of coffee - and when it flies, it's because tempers are flaring at home and the lady of the house, upset, hurls her saucer at her poor husband's head.

And I certainly won't spend my days and nights scanning the French skies in search of flying saucers. Nor will I be the lucky winner of the million offered for a photo of supposed saucers. But surely, that million will never be awarded - for good reason.

So, since we are earthlings, let's stay grounded and deal with our own problems - which are already complicated enough - without concerning ourselves with phenomena that are more or less real, but more often completely fabricated by unbalanced minds.

As for me, I'm more of a realist - and a saucer, to me, is my plate when there's food on it.

L. DUHAMEL.