The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Haut-Marnais Républicain, Chaumont, France, on October 29, 1954.
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Avignon. -- Mr. Lucien Jeune, mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, has issued the following decree, which was approved by the Prefect of Vaucluse and made enforceable:
The mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape decrees:
Article 1st. -- The overflight, landing, and takeoff of aircraft, called flying saucers or flying cigars, of any nationality, are prohibited on the territory of the commune.
Art. 2. -- Any aircraft, called a flying saucer or flying cigar, that lands on the territory of the commune will be immediately impounded.
Art. 3. -- The rural guard and the private guard are each responsible, in their respective areas, for enforcing this decree.
Guéret. -- A farmer from the village of La Vaureille, Mr. André Bousard, 47, recounted to the Aubusson gendarmes the "strange encounter" he had while returning from the town of Alleyrat (Creuse).
At a place called "La Madière," he stated, I saw a figure on the roadside.
I stopped to observe the individual more closely. He, who was bent over, suddenly stood up, aiming two powerful lamps at me that emitted a very dense light blue beam.
He also had, on each side of his head, a light green lamp emitting rays much weaker than the others. He appeared to be about 1.60 meters tall, and I initially thought he was wearing a diving suit.
Suddenly, under a pressure comparable to a gust of wind, I was thrown to the other side of the road, where I remained for 10 minutes unable to scream or call for help.
The light blue beams remained fixed on me. They finally went out. The being crossed the road and disappeared abruptly. I felt, and still feel, pain in my legs and right hand.
At the location indicated by the farmer, the gendarmes found that the soil had been freshly disturbed.
The grass had been torn up over an area 70 centimeters in diameter. No footprints were found.
Tarbes. -- A truck driver from Tarbes, Mr. Vincent Casamajou, who was heading toward Angoulême around 6 a.m. with a load, accompanied by his wife, saw in his rearview mirror a strange white glow.
Having pulled his truck over to the roadside, he and his wife saw a craft that had just taken off from a field, less than 50 meters away.
The craft, shaped like a huge cauldron, rose at very high speed at a 45-degree angle.
It left a white trail behind and disappeared into the clouds.
Rome. -- Three employees of the police prefecture of Modena made statements regarding the appearance of a strange "machine" in the sky over the city.
They stated that the craft, after zigzagging over several kilometers, stopped just above the airfield while launching luminous rockets in all directions, after which it shot away vertiginously toward the Apennines.
In Florence, hundreds of people attending a training session of the local football team, as well as the players themselves, reported that several "indescribable objects" of absolute white crossed the sky in formation moving from north to south. These objects included "cigars" and "discs."
