The article below was published in the daily newspaper Paris-Presse, Paris, France, page 5, on October 17, 1954.
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A cyclist from Biot, near Antibes, bordered on a disaster: he almost collided with a flying cigar that was parked on the road.
- I had, he said, just the time to brake.. In front of me: a kind of cylinder, terminated by a metallic tail in gray color. The craft went to the vertical with a slight hissind sound.
"Above all, do not reveal my name, I would not like to be taken for a crackpot," asked the witness, telling his story to the first deputy of the town hall of Antibes.
A few hours later, workers announced that they too had seen the cigar. Antibes newspaper "L'Indépendant" has published a special edition.
The Midi, currently, is invaded by saucers. Martians must fear the cold...
One saw above Nice an orange disc, above Cannes a "green tailed yellow craft"; grape pickers from the Var saw a white and blue flying cigar. A pensioner met, near the swimming pool of Perpignan, a Martian dressed in a diving suit, descended from a large reddish sphere, which flew away without a trace.
As for the flying cigar of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, it turned out, after investigation, that it was only a saucer ghost. Local residents, mayor first, say they saw it. But the two fighter pilots sent to chase it vainly sought it in the sky. They did not even distinguish the slightest weather balloon. One reported another cigar a little later at the Italian border, but this time no one bothered.
Moreover, many cigars were seen yesterday in Italy. The most curious information concerns one who would have landed near Rovigo: at the place where the locals claim to have seen it take off, a crater, six meters in diameter opens, and six poplars trees which stood nearby were half charred.
Finally yesterday afternoon, the residents of Tulle and Brive examined under the binocular a gigantic "elongated drug drop container" which flew over the region until nightfall. It was also seen from the weather station of Puy-Chadrac and from that of Rueyres (Cantal), but observers compare it to an olive surmounted by an antenna...
MONDAY, the continuation of our investigation:
"What you need to know about flying saucers"
