The article below was published in the daily newspaper L'Union, of Reims, France, page 3, on October 28, 1954.
See the case file.
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Faced with one of the greatest mysteries of modern times, it is far preferable to resolutely abandon the simplistic definitions of flying saucers or other dishes, flying cigars or other hunting sticks, Martians, Venusians, Lunarians, or other orangutans, which have no real merit.
We much prefer the definition "unidentified flying object," which, when applied to these phenomena now observed by thousands of people, has the merit of precisely framing the problem and, as they say, putting the dots on the i and things in their proper place, cutting short idle speculations, hypotheses, and jokes that have nothing to do with simple intellectual honesty.
This preamble is not entirely useless, as some individuals have developed the deplorable habit of sending unidentified objects at others' heads for their petty interests or personal vanities.
That said, let us calmly examine the testimony received yesterday. The witness, not wishing to be singled out, chose to remain relatively anonymous while still contributing to the pursuit of truth. It goes without saying that the witness's credibility excludes any fanciful exaggeration. He allowed us to cite his initials: M. S.
Mr. M. S. was riding a motorcycle Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on Rue de l'Arquebuse, heading toward Place de la Liberté. Suddenly, as he crossed Rue de Vendeuil, he saw in the sky a green object, slightly elliptical in shape, moving horizontally at very high speed in an approximately north-south direction.
Mr. M. S. estimates that the apparent diameter of the object was, to him, the size of a thumbtack held at arm's length. The "unidentified object" left a whitish trail in the sky that remained visible after its disappearance.
The object, whose green color was very intense and luminous, seemed to increase in volume while projecting sparks, then vanished from the observer's view. Mr. M. S. felt that the "unidentified object"was very far away, as he saw it low on the horizon, necessarily still limited by the nearby houses.
According to the observer, no aircraft were reported in the area at that time.
Given the hour, it is likely that this phenomenon was seen by others. It would be interesting for them to share their observations with fellow citizens.
