Sassier entity encounter — 1954

Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron told newspapers that their van stopped while they travelled from Clamecy toward the Corbigny fair before dawn in October 1954. The usual catalogue date is October 11, although published hours vary. Gallois described an electric-shock sensation followed by engine failure and extinguished headlights. A grey, thick cylindrical object allegedly stood in a pasture about fifty metres away. The men claimed three small figures moved beside or aboard it; their features could not be resolved. A small reddish point was interpreted as a light or something resembling a cigarette. They said they could not move until the object disappeared, after which they continued their trip. Henri Chaumeau's claimed distant observation over nearby woods was a separate report, not a third close observer inside the van. The crucial follow-up is a retraction: Julien Gonzalez identifies an October 14 Journal du Centre article stating that Gallois and Vigneron invented the story. Barthel and Brucker later reported Gallois's acknowledgement, and Gonzalez says Gallois confirmed the hoax to him in 2000. The incident therefore should not remain an unexplained vehicle-interference case. Its electrical and occupant details are preserved as the original claim, explicitly labelled as a confessed hoax.