Montlucon, FR being encounter — October 10, 1954

Railway employee Laugère’s Montluçon story was widely reported during the French 1954 wave. The imported entry uses October 10, while contemporary press and later catalogues generally give October 12. He said he encountered a metallic torpedo-shaped object, roughly four metres long, by the railway’s diesel fuel installation. A figure nearby appeared covered in hair or wearing a shaggy coat. Laugère asked what he wanted and heard an unclear reply that he associated with fuel. He left to alert colleagues, then reportedly saw a light rise and vanish. Newspaper retellings transformed this into a visitor trying to refuel an extraordinary vehicle. Later local investigation by Groupe 03100, recorded by Figuet and Ruchon, classified the episode as a prank by railway colleagues using a goatskin, lamp and a rocket to imitate the departure. That explanation is part of the record, not omitted in favour of the original mystery. The plate prominently labels the hoax and reconstructs the perceived scene, including worker, hairy-coated prankster and torpedo form; it depicts no authenticated alien hardware.