UFOs in the daily Press:

The testimonies made public

People from the Orne have seen UFOs

Unexplained phenomena fascinate. An organization has just made public the testimonies deemed credible from people who have witnessed inexplicable phenomena. Orne is not exempt from UFO sightings.

Since 1977, GEIPAN (Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena), created by the National Center for Space Studies, has been collecting declarations, testimonies, and evidence of anomalies observed in the sky. These testimonies are now being made available on the Internet.

Each statement is accompanied by a record indicating its credibility, the witness’s age, and the number of people who observed the same phenomenon. Orne has had its share of UFO sightings.

"10 to 15 meters in wingspan"

In Tunu, on September 6, 1988, at 11 PM, a witness driving a car saw a barrel-shaped luminous form with two bright lights flying at a relatively low altitude. The object hovered over his vehicle, then made a turn and disappeared.

The next day, another witness reported the same observation, but with a much more oval shape. He was also able to determine that the object had a width of about ten meters and a height of five or six meters.

Over the years, between six and seven testimonies have accumulated about this observation. A simulation was carried out, and the diameter of the object was estimated between 10 to 15 meters in wingspan. The testimonies were recorded, but the investigations did not determine the exact nature of the observed object.

"A large rectangular shape"

In Authou-du-Perche (Sarthe), on March 10, 1980, at the end of their service, four gendarmes from the Mamers brigade observed a rectangular flying object.

One of them reported:

"While we were patrolling along a forest, we suddenly noticed a large rectangular shape, motionless and floating in the air. It seemed to be emitting an intense light. We immediately stopped the car, and we were all astonished by this sight."

The witness went on to say that the four gendarmes started following the phenomenon for several minutes. However, it suddenly accelerated and disappeared at high speed.

That same evening, the gendarmes went to a small village to question its residents. Several of them had also seen the same phenomenon.

A UFO witness investigator

Thierry Garnier created an association in 1996, the Norman Circle for Ufological Research, based in Eure. He meets witnesses of unexplained phenomena and records their testimonies. He explains:

"We must investigate thoroughly, like in Dahlu, where a case was explained after an in-depth study. On average, only 20% of cases remain unexplained."

In 1998, he went to Mauves-sur-Huisne to meet a witness. Here is what he recorded:

"Here is my strange story, which happened in 1993. It was around 5:45 AM. I was on the road between La Chapelle-Montligeon and Maison-Maugis-Saint-Hilaire when suddenly I saw an intense light in the distance. I drove closer, and at about five hundred meters, I saw something unusual."

"It's a UFO..."

"At low altitude (between 30 to 50 meters), something the size of a plane was hovering, perfectly stable and silent. It was intensely luminous, emitting a blue-white light. The object was about 50 to 70 meters long. The light was so powerful that it was difficult to distinguish any details. I stopped and observed the object for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, it accelerated in a completely unnatural way and disappeared in an instant. That’s when I thought: it’s a UFO..."

This witness has never spoken publicly about this experience until now, fearing ridicule. Thierry Garnier adds:

"This type of phenomenon is extremely rare. But the description matches several other observations made in the same region."

"...The object seemed abstract"

A second witness, without knowing the first one, reported a similar sighting. He also described an "intensely luminous object that seemed almost abstract."

"At first, it looked like a cloud of light. But as it got closer, it became denser. I couldn’t determine its color or texture."

This rare testimony is categorized as unexplained by GEIPAN, as it was impossible to determine the size or exact nature of the object.

Julie HURISSE