Near Ste-Hermine, FR being encounter — July 24, 1967

Daniel Bonifait, an electrician and volunteer firefighter, was driving home with his wife and daughter between Mareuil and Sainte-Hermine on July 24, 1967. Near Simon-la-Vineuse, his wife cried out as they reportedly saw an enormous red disc ahead of the car. The accounts place the sighting around 10–10:30 p.m. and estimate its distance at two to three hundred metres; its size was compared with a building. Bonifait's wife and daughter said they could distinguish dark forms on the glowing surface. No facial features, clothing or definite anatomy were reported. The daughter reportedly fainted. Bonifait turned the car around, and a rise in the ground partly concealed the object as the family drove away. Looking in his mirror, he described the forest as illuminated by a flame-like light unlike an ordinary fire. The case entered GEPA and Vallée's catalogues, with later retellings expanding the family's circumstances. The dark forms remain unresolved shapes rather than identified occupants, and the unusual illumination does not establish a forest fire. The plate keeps the three family members together in their car, the red object beyond the rise and the figures indistinct. Reported dimensions and distances were witness estimates, not surveyed measurements.