The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
October 6, 1954, Saint-Luperce, Eure-et-Loir:
Reference for this case: 6-Oct-54-Saint-Luperce.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In their 1979 book, the two ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon indicated that according to the newspaper L'Echo Républicain for October 7, 1954, in Saint-Luperce in the Eure-et-Loir department on October 6, 1954, at 02:30, two luminous ovoid-shaped craft swaying noiselessly over the skyline were observed.
In 2026, I was able to find the newspaper article, L'Echo Républicain of October 7, 1954.
It reported that in Saint-Luperce, people "known and respected in the region, whose testimony cannot be doubted," had observed "during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday," at "around 2:30 a.m.," thus on October 6, 1954, a curious phenomenon.
The newspaper reported that while the countryside was still asleep, Mr. Marcel Rousseau, a night clerk in the service of Mr. Mesnil, a miller, was going about his duties when he noticed toward the East, in the direction of Chartres, two luminous objects of ovoid shape swaying silently above the horizon line.
One was reddish in color; the other, located at a distance that was obviously impossible to assess, had a hue tending toward light blue.
Recovering from his surprise, Mr. Marcel Rousseau went to wake his employer, Mr. Mesnil, to inform him of his discovery. The latter, soon followed by his wife, was also able to observe, using binoculars, the two luminous objects in the sky.
Mr. Mesnil is quoted as saying:
"I thought they were two stars. But I had to admit my mistake very quickly. On several occasions, the two 'saucers' disappeared only to return some time later. Their luminous intensity was unequal. I went back to bed, but my night worker was able to observe them until about 6:15 a.m."
The newspaper asserted that the hypothesis "of a prank or a case of self-suggestion must in any case be ruled out."
[Ref. ern1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ECHO REPUBLICAIN":
|
The sky of our old land, so calm for centuries, has recently taken on an unusual activity.
At a time when scientists are examining the problem of "flying saucers," fireworks set off by a mysterious hand are lighting up even the smallest villages in our countryside.
The other night, it was in Vitray-en-Beauce. This time it is in Saint-Luperce where well-known and respected people in the region, whose testimony cannot be doubted, observed a curious phenomenon during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
It was about 2:30 a.m. The countryside was asleep. Mr. Marcel Rousseau, a night worker in the service of Mr. Mesnil, a miller, was going about his duties when he noticed toward the east, in the direction of Chartres, two luminous objects of oval shape swaying silently above the horizon.
One was reddish in color; the other, located at a distance that was obviously impossible to estimate, had a light bluish tint.
Recovering from his surprise, Mr. Marcel Rousseau went to wake his employer to inform him of his discovery. Mr. Mesnil, soon followed by his wife, was in turn able, with the help of binoculars, to observe the presence of two luminous objects in the sky.
"I first thought they were two stars," he said. "But I quickly had to admit my mistake. Several times, the two 'discs' disappeared, only to reappear some time later. Their brightness was uneven. I went back to bed, but my night worker was able to observe them until about 6:15 a.m."
This troubling apparition confirms the many observations made throughout the world, and more particularly in Western Europe.
The hypothesis of a prank or self-suggestion must in any case be ruled out.
Martians or not, there is a mystery, and even the most skeptical have come to believe that "there really is something."
Everyone is talking about flying saucers. The canton of Janville had been spared until now. The story was told to us by reliable witnesses. This sighting took place in the region on Tuesday evening around 7:30 p.m. The saucer "looked like a ball of fire." The three witnesses to the scene are:
Mr. Lucien Vappeareau and Mr. Bernard Marcou, a mechanic working for Mr. Lepage in Janville, and Mr. Crépu, a worker at the Toury sugar factory. All three were returning home to Le Puiset when, at the exit of Janville, Mr. Bernard Marcou's attention was drawn to a ball of fire which was located (according to the witness) in the direction of Outrouville, moving toward Merville, where it seemed to descend gradually without decreasing in size; then the glow disappeared.
The fireball moved very slowly, as the cyclists had time to travel from Janville to Le Puiset (1 kilometer) and observe, at the entrance to the latter locality, the effects of this phenomenon, which quickly emitted a sort of flame.
The fireball was reddish in color and at a very low altitude. On the Chartres-Orléans road, about 5 kilometers from the observers' location, a car with its headlights on flashed its lights, and at that moment the fireball turned bluish-green.
To our knowledge, the following people have stated that they saw "flying saucers":
- Mrs. Bourgogne, in Crotin (Eure)
- Mr. and Mrs. Fernand François, in Brezolles
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Saint-Luperce in the department of Eure-et-Loir, on October 6, 1954 at 02:30, two luminous machines of ovoid shape were observed, swinging without noise above the horizon.
They indicate that the source is L'Echo Républicain for October 7, 1954.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3988: 1954/10/06 02:30 1 1:19:00 E 48:25:20 N 3333 WEU FRN E&L 6:6
St-LUPERCE,FR:2 SLNT OVOIDS SWING OVR HORIZON:/Echo Republicain+/r30p128
Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 55: TOWN &CITY
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Eure et Loir, in St Luperce, on October 6, 1954 at 02:30 hours, there was an observation of two luminous craft of ovoid form being swinging without noise above the horizon.
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 6 October 1954 at 02:30 in St-Luperce, France, two silent ovoids swing over horizon. "Unidentified objects were sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation. Two ovoid objects were observed in a town for over one minute. No sound was heard."
The source is indicated as Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. jqy1:] JEAN DE QUERCY:
On October 6, 1954 at 02:30, two ovoid-shaped luminous craft, hovering noiselessly above the horizon line, were observed.
The UFODNA website states: "Unidentified objects were sighted, but with an appearance and behavior that, most likely, would have a conventional explanation. Two ovoid objects were observed in a city for more than a minute. No sound was heard."
(Source: L'Echo Républicain for October 7, 1954.)
|
Possible helicopters.
Update as of April 26, 2026:
With the details in the primary source [ern1], I considered that since one of the witnesses initially thought they were stars, and since the movements appear to have been observed through unsteady binoculars, and given the very long duration of the observation, it could have been an astronomical misidentification.
The idea was then to find two bright celestial bodies in roughly the same direction, one reddish, the other bluish - for example, Mars and Venus.
Checking this, I found nothing that could match. Jupiter was there, orange in color, but nothing notable nearby.
However, given the duration, I now rule out helicopters or any other terrestrial aircraft.
I leave the case as "unidentified."
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Saint-Luperce, Eure-et-Loir, Marcel Rousseau, Mesnil, craft, luminous, objects, ovoid, oval, silent, swinging, reddish, bue, binoculars, stars, saucers
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 4, 2005 | First published, [fru1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 20, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 6, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 29, 2022 | Additions [jqy1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | April 26, 2026 | Addition [ern1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [ern1]. In the Explanations, addition of the "Update as of April 26, 2026" part. |
