South / Cenon, FR being encounter — September 19, 1954

Yves David, a twenty-eight-year-old farmer, reported a nighttime encounter on the road between Cenon and Vouneuil-sur-Vienne during the French sightings of September 1954. A contemporary newspaper account dated September 29 places the incident on September 19; Jacques Vallée’s later catalogue gives September 17. David described a small humanlike figure in clothing resembling a diver’s suit. According to the newspaper version, it approached him, touched or stroked his arm and made sounds he could not understand. It then withdrew toward an object nearby. David said a green light left him unable to move, after which the object rose vertically and departed quietly. A useful limit in the contemporary report is that David could not provide a proper description of the object itself. Precise saucer dimensions or elaborate machinery would therefore exceed his published testimony. The reported touch, unfamiliar speech and immobilizing light distinguish this case from a distant light sighting, while the conflicting dates remain visible in the source history. The plate uses a diffuse glow for the object and a month-only title.