The 1954 French flap:

IN THE FILE OF "FLYING SAUCERS"

A very curious photo taken in September 1953 in MEHUN-SUR-YEVRE...

[Photo caption:] Above the largest tower, the phenomenon is clearly visible.

Following an article published in the "Berry Républicain" about flying saucers, one of our readers wrote to inform us that someone in Mehun-sur-Yèvre possessed a photograph that "could reignite the debate."

This anonymous correspondent mentioned in his letter that he had seen a photographic print that provided undeniable proof of the existence of mysterious objects in the sky, without any trickery.

It was our duty to track down the owner of this photo. We did.

Let's hear from the person who kindly lent us this print, whose name we will not reveal, as they wish to remain anonymous.

- "It is true that I have possession of a document that was given to me by a third party. This photography enthusiast, like many others, was capturing images of the ruins of Charles VII's castle. To be precise, this picture was taken last year, around the end of September, during a period when France experienced a resurgence of flying saucer sightings. Our friend took his shot after setting up his camera. However, he saw nothing through the viewfinder. It was only during development and printing that the phenomenon became visible in the image."

"One can clearly distinguish, in the cloudless sky, a shadowed area, a luminous semi-circle, and another shadowed zone. On either side, wave-like patterns are visible (sometimes invisible to the naked eye but captured on the sensitive film)."

"The photographer is adamant: it is not a water droplet or a flaw in the print. At first, he said nothing, but one day he showed his photo. That's the whole story. This is not a hoax from your anonymous correspondent."

* * *

We will add nothing more. We have no reason to suspect the photographer of trickery or of exploiting a defect in the film. We simply note his remarkable luck in capturing, purely by chance, in a fraction of a second, a phenomenon that he did not even notice with the naked eye...

Saucer in Brinon...

Having learned that Mr. Chesnet, a courier in Bordes, Brinon-sur-Sauldre, had seen a flying saucer, we interviewed him. He gave us the following statement:

"Last Saturday, around 9 p.m., as I stepped into the farmyard, my attention was drawn toward Pierrefitte by a dazzling orange disk, about 2 to 3 meters in diameter. A few meters behind the first disk, in line with its movement, was a second, much smaller red disk. The object, which seemed relatively close, descended slowly in an oblique manner, like an airplane preparing to land. I called my wife, and together we observed the craft for several minutes as it appeared to land and then went dark, illuminating the woods with a beautiful glow."

"Until now, I was skeptical and gave little credence to these flying saucer stories in the newspapers. That is why I said nothing before, fearing people would think I was making it up."

Several other credible individuals also reported seeing the saucer, particularly Mr. and Mrs. Henri Frappaz, who live on Rue Sableuses. They confirmed Mr. and Mrs. Chesnet's account in every detail.

...in Corquoy

On Wednesday, September 29, around 9 p.m., two luminous spheres were observed by Mr. Eugène Pitault, a rural postman serving Corquoy.

According to his completely reliable testimony, the lights could not have been the position lights of an airplane, which are frequently seen in the region. In fact, the American "Fairchild-Packett" planes that land at night in Châteauroux are equipped with both fixed and flashing position lights, which might intrigue uninformed observers.

The two luminous dots moved at a very high speed and without any noise, following a straight line. The first object made abrupt accelerations without deviating from its trajectory, while the second maintained a constant speed in the same direction.