The article below was published in the daily newspaper L'Indépendant, France, on September 22, 1954.
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LODEVE. -- The mysterious machine commonly called "flying Cigar", reported in the Puy de Dôme and the sky of Rome was seen Saturday, September 18 at 7 p.m. very precisely, by three residents worthy of faith of Lodève, in the North of the department of Hérault, as it moved at 1.500 meters of altitude approximately. The object was goings towards the South.
The witnesses were able to observe during nearly five minutes a pointed front, towing a brightly lit sphere of fire red color and moving without noise roughly at the speed of an ordinary plane.
On their side, returning from a patrol during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, two gendarmes of Chateauroux, Misters Courtaud and Péninon stated to their chief that they had seen between 9:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. above la Fleuranderie, commune of Montlerchaume (Indre), a luminous machine immobilized in the sky, at a height of approximately 1.500 meters, then two others of greenish color at a greater altitude. The three mysterious objects, after having veered at right angle, reportedly took the direction of the North-West, South-east.
Mr. Louis Moll, guard-pastoral in Oberdorf (the Moselle), stated to have seen, Sunday, around 9:15 p.m., an intense gleam coming from space and touching the ground in the east of Tromborn.
This gleam, similar to that of a neon tube, the guard added, and coming from an object of rather vaste proportions, changed color. It became reddish and Mr. Moll claims to have seen "black spots" moving silently.
The object, motionless during nearly 40 seconds, started to rotate and carried out an almost vertical rise, taking the aspect of an orange ball and being flattened before disappearing at a vertiginous speed, in the south-eastern direction. The total duration of the phenomenon was one minute approximately.
The authorities who recorded this declaration, opened an investigation.
PERPIGNAN. -- In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, three young boys from 16 to 17 years old, who walked on the pier of the Banyuls-sur-Mer harbor (East. Pyr.) saw in the sky a flying object going at high speed and from which red and green flames seemed to leave.
A little frightened, the boys went to tell their adventure to various consumers who were at the terrace of a coffee shop. But those searched the sky in vain they did not see any trace of the mysterious machine.
