The Trans-en-Provence Case
A farmer in southern France reported a small saucer-shaped craft landing and taking off in his field, leaving marks on the ground that the official French UFO study group investigated.
- Region
- Var
- Country
- France
- Category
- UFO
- Date
- 8 January 1981
- Continent
- Europe
The report
At about 5 p.m. on 8 January 1981, Renato Nicolaï was working on his land outside Trans-en-Provence, in the Var, when he reported hearing a whistling sound and seeing a craft, made of what looked like two saucers joined rim to rim, come down and rest briefly on the ground before rising and leaving. The gendarmerie examined concentric circular marks on the ground the next day, and the French agency GEPAN carried out a two-year investigation of the traces and the soil and plants. GEPAN reported that it found no plausible conventional explanation. Critics have disputed its analysis of the physical traces, and a police report suggested the marks came from vehicle tyres on the nearby road.
Sources and further reading
Location
43.5028, 6.4872