France began to take in seriously the UFO phenomenon in 1954 When there was an enormous number of inexplicable appearances to the months of September-October: it was created a committee called " Section Study of Mysterious Objects Volanti "( SEMOC , Section d'Etudes des Objets mystérieux Célestes ) Employed directly by the science of Staff dell ' Army Air . Lieutenant Colonel Richard Martin directed the various surveys, using the Air Police and Gendarmerie . On 12 January 1955, the Official Newspaper , Published a statement by the Secretary of the Air Ministry in reply to a question posed by MP Jean Nocher October 7 1954:
"The issue of air unidentified objects have been studied by Aviation Military Staff and information services the State Department, from 1951. Until last September, in our country like the United States, almost all reported appearances - when they were credible and sufficiently precise - Could have an explanation without pull tests on the ball secret weapons or the arrival of extraterrestrial weapons . However, it was ordered to training bases and Army Air: to draft, through the witnesses military or civilian, a objective reporting and detailed every time an "unidentified celestial object" to be directly reported and to forward a report with the permission of the commander of the base or training, the State Aviation Major (scientific office), by officers specifically designated to follow this question. Finally capture one of these "bombs", although until now has not produced any results when it was attempted, was authorized each time this maneuver is not a risk of an accident. The staff of the bases and formations that are in the presence of such a transaction must strive to Photography and, if possible, cinema the phenomenon, which however has not been possible yet to do with the clarity and authenticity you want. "
The answer came on 17 February 1955 in the journal Points of view - images of the world ; It Nocher said that although most of the comments reported were resolved by a natural explanation, the 14.5% remained totally unexplained even after eight years of scientific checks made direct with shooting, and this exceeds the margin of error of the experimenters. In conclusion he said Nocher:
"This hypothesis does not imply that only one solution: the" celestial objects can not be explained "are observation equipment , Inhabited or not, who come from another world , from another galaxy .
After 1954, however, the number of sightings decreased drastically, and so in the short SEMOC committee is dissolved.
Were interested in the subject seriously and thoroughly the Gendarmerie The Navy and merchant The National Center of Space Studies and other specialized groups.
In 1974 the Minister of War Robert Galley , Interviewed by JC Bourret on France-Inter said that "it is certain that there is something that is currently unexplained "Referring to the testimonies gathered by SEMOC after 1955 (when it was officially disbanded).