Cette page en français
The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
Reference number for this case: 27-sep-54-Foussignargues. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
[Ref. pr1:] "LE PROVENCAL" NEWSPAPER:
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An object luminous and round as a tomato said to have landed in the night close to BessègesBessèges (C.P.). Mr. Louis Roche, road mender in Bessèges, 62 years old, lives with his wife in a country house located on a sunny hill planted with chestnuts, withint 200 meters of the secondary road 51 which leads from Bessèges to Saint-Ambroix. It is very close to their residence, in a meadow pertaining to Mr. Camille Soustelle, of Bessèges, that they saw the mysterious machine. A red light in the night In the night of Sunday to Monday, at 02:40, Mrs. Fernande Roche, unable to sleep, stood up and went on the terrace that skirts the frontage of the house. Suddenly, she believed being victim of an hallucination: she saw, indeed, very distinctly at a hundred meters from her place, in direction of the road "a round thing like a red tomato with five or six stems placed vertically, large as half of his wrist." "I several times put my hand on the eyes, adds Mrs. Roche. I did not dare to call, but I awoke my husband while telling him "Stand up, I believe that I see a flying saucer". Mr. Roche also saw the red light. He is affirmative on this point. To him, the object had the shape of a bouquet. At the end of a score of minutes of observation and because of the cold, the couple returned inside the house. Half an hour later, Mr. Roche rose again and noted that "it was still there". He lay down then and all had disappeared in the early morning. We reported very exactly the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Roche. Perhaps one will be astonished that it is all so late, but in fact, the explanation is simple: the two husbands feared the mocking remark and that is what they told us flatly. |
[Ref. pr2:] "LE PROVENCAL" NEWSPAPER:
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THE SAUCERSContinued from the first page on all my body, electric ticklings, my sight gets blurry and... I experience the most awful fright of my life." Numerous testimoniesThirty or forty seconds passed, then the machine rose slowly, rotated and disappeared at full speed without noise, neither flame, nor smoke. The account by Goujon was confirmed not only by his comrade Pichet, but also by many cyclists who were on the road and who observed the extraordinary craft too. All the travelers of a bus also saw the flying saucer of FoussignarguesBessèges (C.P.). We reported in our Friday issue under which conditions M. Louis Roche, road mender domiciled in Revêty, had seen, as well as his wife, a mysterious luminous craft posed in a meadow near his country house. Many testimonies came to corroborate these assertions. In the same night of Sunday to Monday, a bus returning from Vals-les-Bains passed in Foussignargues around 02:30 in the morning and continued its travel in the direction of Gagnières. At the crossroads, a passenger stopped, Mrs. Julien and one [illegible: of her sons]. These two people regained Besseges by foot. At this point in time Mrs. Julien pointed out to her son a sort of rocket going downward, of yellow and red color with a white circle in the bottom. During this time, the travelers in the bus which hasted towards Gagnières saw, at the same hour, a red light in the sky. These various statements correspond to those of Mr. and Mrs. Roche. We made a point of reporting this back with objectivity. A written question to the Minister for the Air in connection with the "flying saucers"Paris (A.F.P.). In a written question, Mr. Jean Nocher, deputy of the Loire, shared with the Secretary of State to the Air the emotion caused in the public by the many and various testimonies concerning the "flying saucers." He asks him "whether his predecessors at the Secretariat of State to the Air had been concerned, as in the United States and in the U.S.S.R. since long years, to open an investigation on the presence of unidentified flying objects in our atmosphere. "If yes, he asks him the publishable results of these investigations, if not, he asks him to constitute a largely wide commission with all the interested scientific branches in order to study this phenomenon objectively by separating the truth from the mistales and the possible hoaxes." |
[Ref. am1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on September 27, 1954, in Foussignargues in the department of the Gard, at about 02:30 A.M., the bus which circulated on National Road 130 deposits Mrs. André and her son Julien, who were returning from Vals-les-Bains.
Mrs. Julien and her son then walk along the country road 51 in the direction of Bessèges, within one kilometer from there, where their residence is located. At this time, they see a luminous object of reddish color in the sky, which is surrounded by a paler halation. The luminous object goes down on the side of the East while slowing down and in the end it is hidden by a hill.
During this time, their bus had taken his drive again on national road 130 to reach Gagnières, and was at a few hundred meters in the North of Mrs. André and her son. All the travelers in the bus also saw the odd red gleam going down towards the ground.
Aimé Michel also reports that on the same day of September 27, 1954, Mrs Roche, residing at the Revêty locality in the hills that is crossed by the country road 51 in Gard, was outside on her terrace at 02:40 of the morning to take come fresh air.
When she went out on the terrace, her attention was immediately attracted to a red gleam diffused by a round and luminous object apparently landed on the ground, at a hundred meter below her, on the side of the road.
Aimé Michel indicates that she told:
"The object made me think of a kind of luminous tomato. Five or six small vertical stems, of a perceptible thickness, left its center at its above part."
Mrs. Roche could not believe what she saw and observed the thing during a moment, and nothing happened, then went inside to wake up her husband Louis Roche, road mender in Bessèges. Mr. Roche came on the terrace and noted that her wife did not dream. Both remained there to look at the display during twenty minutes without having dared to go nearer to see it more closely, then they returned to bed, because the weather was cold.
However, Mrs Roche was quite disturbed and could not sleep. So at 03:30 A.M., he woke up and saw hat the object and its red glow were still there. He went back inside even more worried. On the morning, he saw that there was nothing to see anymore, and that there were no traces on the site.
He indicates as source the newspaper "Paris-Presse" for October 2, 1954.
[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques Vallée indicates that on September 27, 1954 in Foussignargues, Mrs. Julien and his André son, from Bessègues, got out of the bus which brought them back from Val des Bains in he Ardeche. The bus set out again towards Gagnières, and Mrs. Julien and her son moved towards their residence in Foussignargues. They then saw a luminous object of reddish color surrounded by a paler halation in the sky, which went down towards the east, and was lost of sight behind a hill.
It was learned afterwards that the travelers of the bus had made a similar observation from a point located a few hundreds of meters North-East.
Ten minutes after the sighting by Mrs. Julien, her son, and the passengers of a bus towards Foussignargues, Mrs. Roche who lived at the location called Revêti in the hills downwards dominating the road, saw from her terrace a red gleam diffused by a round, luminous object apparently posed on the ground at a hundred meters.
Jacques Valley quotes Mrs. Roche:
"The object made me think of a sort of luminous tomato. Five or six vertical stems, of an appreciable thickness, came out of his center, on its top."
The phenomenon was observed by Mrs. and Mr. Roche during twenty minutes. As nothing occurred, they returned inside. Mr. Roche, anxious, stood up at 03:30 in the morning and saw the object at the same place emitting the same red gleam. As fear overcame curiosity, he did not approach the object and returned inside. At twilight all had disappeared and no trace was found.
Jacques Vallée indicates that this was told in the French Press of October 2nd and 6th, 1954.
[Ref. jv2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on September 27, 1954, in Foussignargues, people in a bus saw the first a reddish object going down from the sky. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Roche noticed an object on the ground, gently luminous, at a small distance from their premises, but they were afraid to approach. The object remained there several hours. It was described as "a kind of brilliant tomato, with antennas at the top."
[Ref. jv3:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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157 Sep. 27, 1954 0230. Foussignargues (France). At "Revety," people in a bus saw a reddish light coming down. Later Mr. and Mrs. Roche noticed an object on the ground, softly glowing, a short distance from their home, but were afraid to approach it. It remained there for several hours. It was described as "a sort of glowing tomato, with antennae on top." (18; M 84; Anatomy 71) (Paris-Presse, Le Figaro, France-Soir, Oct. 2, 1954.) |
[Ref. gl1] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two ufologists and authors summarize the case in Foussignargues in the department of the Gard on October 2, 1954 at about 02:30 P.M., with their personal file and newspaper clipping as sources.
They indicate that a bus with tourists which returned from Vals-les-Bains stopped at the crossroad of Bessèges to deposit there two of the travelers, Mrs. Julien and her elder son. At this time a luminous object of reddish color surrounded by a paler halation appeared in the sky. The object descended while slowing down and became hidden from the sight by a hill. Mrs. Julien, her son and all the passengers of the bus followed its manoeuvers.
Behind the hill, the wife of the road mender of Bessège Louis Roche, not being able to find the sleep, went outside on the terrace to take some fresh air. Her glance was immediately attracted by the reddish gleam diffused by a round and luminous object on the ground a hundred meters downwards, in the direction of the road. Mrs. Roche reported:
"One would have said a sort of luminous tomato. Five or six small vertical stems, of an appreciable thickness, came out of its center, above it."
Mrs. Roche continued to observe this for some minutes, and as nothing happened, she woke her husband up and the couple both observed the "tomato" during a score of minutes, but without daring to move away from their premises to go to look closer. Since the weather was cold on the terrace, both then returned inside the house and went to bed again. Mr. Roche remained anxious and ill at ease, and at 03:30, he stood up again and returned on the terrace, from where he saw that the object was still there, motionless.
Mr. Roche hesitated planning to go to see more closely, but finally prudence won and he went back to bed. In the next morning, he returned on the terrace but there was nothing to see anymore. He went on the location where the object had been but he did not find any trace.
[Ref. fr1] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Foussignargues in the Gard at the locality "Revety", on September 27, 1954 at 02:30 in the morning, the passengers of a coach saw in the sky a reddish luminous object surrounded of a paler halation which descended while slowing down. It disappeared behind a hill. Behind this hill, Mrs. Roche, not being able to sleep, went on her terrace to take some fresh air. She then saw, landed in a field, an object having the shape of a luminous tomato with five to six kellies leaving its center by the top. She observed this thing during a few minutes, then decided to awake her husband. They both observed the object during a score of minutes, in spite of the cold, then returned to bed. At approximately 03:30, ill at ease and anxious, Louis Roche stood up, went on his terrace, and saw that the thing was still in the field, Mr. Roche went back to bed. In the morning, the object wasn't visible any more. No traces were found by the witness at the place of landing.
[Ref. jg1:] JEAN-FRANCOIS GILLES:
French ufologist Jean-François Gilles had established a computerized catalogue of landings on the French territory between September 26 and October 18, 1954 in order to study if their geographical distribution were the fact of the chance or not.
| UFO LANDINGS ON THE CONTINENTAL TERRITORY OF FRANCE FROM SEPTEMBER 26, 1954 TO OCTOBER 18, 1954 |
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| ICOD | Désignation | (57) | Date | JV4 | JV1 | COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 002 | 0500 | FOUSSIGNARGUES | RF30 | 540927 | 157 | 146 | |
ICOD is an internal code of this listing. (57) refers to column 57 of the Condon group's computerized UFOCAT, where RF is France and the number is the department. JV4 and JV1 are case numbers in Jacque Vallée's Magonia listing and "Passport to Magonia" book. CE2, CE3 refers to the Hynek classification.
| V | F | G | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICOD | Longitude | Latitude | Longitude | Latitude | Longitude | Latitude |
| 0500 | -4.153 | 44.280 | -4.125 | 44286 | -4.125 | 44.290 |
V,F,G are codes for people who determined the coordinates: V = Jacques Vallée, ufologist, F = Jean Charles Fumoux, officer of the French Air Force, G = Jean François Gille, ufologist.
[Ref. uc1:] UFOCAT'S "ON THIS DAY":
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On this Day September 27 [...] 1954 - Foussignargues, France. At "Revety," people on a bus saw a reddish light with a halo come down from the sky at 2:30 a.m.. Later Mr. and Mrs. Louis Roche noticed a softly glowing red object on the ground a short distance from their house, but were afraid to approach it. It remained there for several hours. It was described as "a sort of glowing tomato, with antennae on top." (Sources: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 212; Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, pp. 89-90). |
Not looked for yet.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Foussignargues, Gard, Revety, Roche, red, light, landing, object, glowing, luminous, antenna
[---] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
