The article below was published in the daily newspaper Combat, Paris, France, page 10, on October 7, 1954.
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QUIMPER, October 6. -- While fetching water in the courtyard of a bakery, Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker in Loctudy (Finistère), suddenly saw yesterday morning around 4 a.m. a craft shaped like a saucer, about 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter. He saw a being about 1.20 meters tall emerge from it, approach him, and tap him on the shoulder while uttering unintelligible words. The baker managed to keep his composure and returned to the bakehouse, where the stranger followed him.
In the light, Mr. Lucas was able to look closely at the visitor. He had an oval face, completely covered with hair, and eyes the size of a crow's egg. The young man called his boss, but before the latter could come down, the stranger had disappeared, as had his saucer, which left no trace.
A beer vendor from Concarneau also reported seeing two luminous discs in the sky, shaped like a round table with a kind of tail. One of the discs remained stationary while the other moved nearby. Both discs disappeared after ten minutes, having launched a flare.
CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Two saucers were seen in the skies over Clermont. The first 10 kilometers from Beaumont at 3:45 p.m., moved west to east. Witnesses said the craft approached them and became less and less bright. When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a "strange sensation" and were rooted to the spot. At that moment, a smell of nitrobenzene was noticeable. Soon the craft moved away, the discomfort disappeared, and the saucer vanished.
The other saucer was seen above the Chanturgue hills near Clermont. It moved vertically and was brilliantly white.
A saucer was also seen in Billom by a group of 30 people.
SAINT-BRIEUC. -- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw a flying saucer that turned into a flying cigar before disappearing. They observed it for over an hour. The same phenomenon was seen in Trégueux.
LA ROCHELLE. -- Last night, several people from Thouare-sur-Vie (Vendée) saw a dozen luminous objects in the sky, elongated in shape, flying at very high speed and high altitude.
LA ROCHELLE. -- Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau were in front of their farm when they saw, about one meter above the ground, a spherical saucer measuring 2 to 3 meters high and about 5 meters in diameter. The craft, which made no sound, remained still for a few minutes, then rose vertically. The next day, Mr. Guillemoteau went to the site and found oily traces on the grass.
MANTUA. -- Traffic was halted for more than an hour in downtown Mantua by crowds gathered to observe a strange "white object" clearly visible at high altitude against the blue sky.
ROME. -- The "Martians" also seem eager to visit Italy. Indeed, a fisherman from Roverbella, in the province of Mantua, said he was approached last night by a mysterious individual dressed in red, who spoke unintelligible words to him before quickly leaving, before the fisherman could call his wife.
MELUN. -- The newspaper "Le Pays Briard" from Coulommiers publishes a letter sent by one of its readers, Mr. E. Farnier, a member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, regarding flying saucers.
In this letter, Mr. Farnier specifies that he saw, above his property in Jouy-sur-Morin, a large disc 8 to 10 meters in diameter, "spinning in place while emitting red-violet lights, with a whistling sound somewhat like that of a jet plane approaching. The craft was about 400 meters high and hovered above me for over twenty minutes. I therefore had ample time to observe it closely. The craft then disappeared toward Coulommiers."
In his letter, Mr. Farnier adds:
"Former commissioner with the Aéro-Club de France, having served in aviation, I was not the victim of a hallucination and this craft was not a weather balloon, but a thick circular wing hovering in place and moving at very high speed while gradually gaining altitude."
