The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Havre Dimanche, Le Havre, France, on January 21, 2007.
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MYSTERY. Three people allegedly witnessed a strange sighting on Friday, December 15, in the upper town of Le Havre.
"People don't dare to testify. They're afraid of being taken for fools and being mocked," says Alix Leproust, Le Havre’s representative of the Ufology Academy, the "science" of UFOs. He himself shares this fear but openly displays his passion for unidentified flying objects. That’s why he is looking for testimonies regarding "a sighting of unidentified flying objects, reported by several people on Friday, December 15, between 4:00 and 5:00 PM, in the upper town of Le Havre."
The gendarmerie, responsible for recording observers' statements at the national level, confirms that it has interviewed several people. "The three witnesses who made a statement at the Montivilliers police station were in the Mare-au-Clerc district, at the intersection of Rue Sarah-Bernhardt and Rue de Tahure," says Alix Leproust, 37 years old. He speaks calmly and appears in a suit and tie. He aims to appear credible.
Hockey Pucks
This prevention technician continues: "They saw seven small flat objects, resembling hockey pucks, in dark anthracite gray or brown. Each was about 3 meters long and 1.50 meters wide. They were flying at an altitude of approximately 800 to 1,500 meters, grouped together, moving from the city center toward the Montivilliers forest. They stood out against the background. Their speed was perhaps 50 km/h."
Alix Leproust finds no explanation for this sighting: "I want to try to understand, from a scientific point of view, what it was." The mystery deepens even further as, conversely, the police have neither heard of anything nor seen anything. Furthermore, these spontaneous testimonies may prove particularly significant.
Complex Investigations
The Ufology Academy, currently finalizing its statutes, is "not a free-for-all," insists Alix Leproust: "We work with serious people, particularly scientists. But we are trying to change skeptical mindsets while still offering an open structure." The association, based in Romette in the Hautes-Alpes, aims to contribute to scientific advancements, if it manages to establish a real partnership with CNES (the French National Center for Space Studies) and its GEPAN (Group for the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena).
"We will therefore adhere to a code of ethics," continues the Le Havre delegate, which is based on a fundamental principle: "Every member is convinced that reports of unidentified flying objects can be explained in ways other than mere misinterpretations and fabrications."
For the study of these phenomena still suffers from numerous prejudices: "We are sometimes seen as lunatics who see little green men everywhere, but we are simply trying to understand certain apparitions," says the volunteer.
Optical illusions, meteorite re-entries into the atmosphere, visions caused by psychiatric conditions, or the tricks of pranksters or magicians do not explain everything.
