The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
October 5, 1954, Janville, Eure-et-Loir:
Reference for this case: 5-Oct-54-Janville.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In their 1979 book, the two French ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon indicated that according to the newspaper L'Echo Républicain for October 7, 1954, in Janville, on October 5, 1954, at 07:30 p.m., a ball of fire moving very slowly was observed.
In fact, the newspaper they referred to reported the following:
The canton of Janville had been spared until that day. "Worthy of faith" people reported that "Tuesday evening around 7:30 p.m.," thus October 5, 1954, they had seen a "flying saucer" having "the appearance of a ball of fire."
The three witnesses were: Lucien Vappeareau and Bernard Marcou, mechanic workers for Mr. Lepage in Janville, and Mr. Crépu, a worker at the Toury sugar factory.
All three were heading home to Le Puiset when, on leaving Janville, Mr. Bernard Marcou's attention was drawn to a ball of fire which was located (according to the witness) in the direction of Outrouville, moving toward Merville, where it seemed to descend gradually without, however, decreasing in size. Then the glow disappeared.
This "ball of fire" was moving very slowly, since the cyclists had time to travel from Janville to Le Puiset (1 kilometer) and to observe, at the entrance to the latter locality, the effects of this phenomenon "which quickly ejected a kind of flame."
The "ball of fire" was reddish in color and at a very low altitude. On the national road from Chartres to Orléans, about 5 kilometers from the observers' stopping point, a car with all its lights on flashed its headlights, and at that moment the "ball of fire" took on a blue-green color.
[Ref. ern1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ECHO REPUBLICAIN":
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The sky of our old land, so calm for centuries, has recently taken on an unusual activity.
At a time when scientists are examining the problem of "flying saucers," fireworks set off by a mysterious hand are lighting up even the smallest villages in our countryside.
The other night, it was in Vitray-en-Beauce. This time it is in Saint-Luperce where well-known and respected people in the region, whose testimony cannot be doubted, observed a curious phenomenon during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
It was about 2:30 a.m. The countryside was asleep. Mr. Marcel Rousseau, a night worker in the service of Mr. Mesnil, a miller, was going about his duties when he noticed toward the east, in the direction of Chartres, two luminous objects of oval shape swaying silently above the horizon.
One was reddish in color; the other, located at a distance that was obviously impossible to estimate, had a light bluish tint.
Recovering from his surprise, Mr. Marcel Rousseau went to wake his employer to inform him of his discovery. Mr. Mesnil, soon followed by his wife, was in turn able, with the help of binoculars, to observe the presence of two luminous objects in the sky.
"I first thought they were two stars," he said. "But I quickly had to admit my mistake. Several times, the two 'discs' disappeared, only to reappear some time later. Their brightness was uneven. I went back to bed, but my night worker was able to observe them until about 6:15 a.m."
This troubling apparition confirms the many observations made throughout the world, and more particularly in Western Europe.
The hypothesis of a prank or self-suggestion must in any case be ruled out.
Martians or not, there is a mystery, and even the most skeptical have come to believe that "there really is something."
Everyone is talking about flying saucers. The canton of Janville had been spared until now. The story was told to us by reliable witnesses. This sighting took place in the region on Tuesday evening around 7:30 p.m. The saucer "looked like a ball of fire." The three witnesses to the scene are:
Mr. Lucien Vappeareau and Mr. Bernard Marcou, a mechanic working for Mr. Lepage in Janville, and Mr. Crépu, a worker at the Toury sugar factory. All three were returning home to Le Puiset when, at the exit of Janville, Mr. Bernard Marcou's attention was drawn to a ball of fire which was located (according to the witness) in the direction of Outrouville, moving toward Merville, where it seemed to descend gradually without decreasing in size; then the glow disappeared.
The fireball moved very slowly, as the cyclists had time to travel from Janville to Le Puiset (1 kilometer) and observe, at the entrance to the latter locality, the effects of this phenomenon, which quickly emitted a sort of flame.
The fireball was reddish in color and at a very low altitude. On the Chartres-Orléans road, about 5 kilometers from the observers' location, a car with its headlights on flashed its lights, and at that moment the fireball turned bluish-green.
To our knowledge, the following people have stated that they saw "flying saucers":
- Mrs. Bourgogne, in Crotin (Eure)
- Mr. and Mrs. Fernand François, in Brezolles
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Janville in an unspecified department on October 5, 1954 at 07:30 p.m., a ball of fire moving very slowly was observed.
The source is given as L'Echo Républicain for October 7, 1954.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan states that in the Eure-et-Loir, in Janville, on October 5, 1954 at 7:30 p.m., there was an observation of a ball of fire moving very slowly.
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** published by Alain Lefeuvre 1979".
[Ref. jqy1:] JEAN DE QUERCY:
On October 5, 1954 at 7:30 p.m., a very slowly moving ball of fire was observed. This case is similar to the vision of a meteor. But the slowness of the phenomenon leaves one wondering.
(Source: L'Echo Républicain, October 7, 1954.)
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Totally insufficient information, possible meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Janville, Eure-et-Loir, ball, fire, slow
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 12, 2005 | First published, [fru1]. |
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | July 27, 2007 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 5, 2009 | First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | August 24, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 29, 2022 | Addition [jqy1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | April 26, 2026 | Addition [ern1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [ern1]. In the Explanations, addition of the "Update as of April 26, 2026" part. |