The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 29-Oct-54-Biarritz.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Journal de Biarritz et de la Côte Basque for October 30, 1954, reported that a “Flying Gourd” [sic] had landed in the middle of the Biarritz golf course:
Last night around 9 p.m., the duty officer at the Police Commissariat received a phone call from someone claiming to be the caretaker of the Biarritz Golf Course, informing him that an unusual light had been seen in the middle of the course. The caller seemed very agitated and immediately hung up.
The officer on duty, though skeptical, nevertheless sent two policemen to the scene. Upon arrival, they were received by Mrs. Dufour, the caretaker's wife, who declared that her husband was absent and that she knew nothing about it.
As they were leaving the golf course, the officers encountered one of our colleagues, who had also been alerted by the phone call.
The journalist, equipped with his camera, upon arriving at the golf course, confirmed that indeed a light was visible in the middle of the grounds. Was it a "flying saucer"? Approaching cautiously with about twenty local residents, intrigued by the glow, they discovered in the center of the golf course a fine hollowed-out pumpkin, pierced with holes, inside of which a candle was burning.
The "Martian" was none other than a mischievous local from Biarritz...
[Ref. jbz1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DE BIARRITZ":
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Last night around 9 p.m., the duty officer at the Police Commissariat received a phone call from someone claiming to be the caretaker of the Biarritz Golf Course, informing him that an unusual light had been seen in the middle of the course. The caller seemed very agitated and immediately hung up.
The officer on duty, though skeptical, nevertheless sent two policemen to the scene. Upon arrival, they were received by Mrs. Dufour, the caretaker's wife, who declared that her husband was absent and that she knew nothing about it.
As they were leaving the golf course, the officers encountered one of our colleagues, who had also been alerted by the phone call.
The journalist, equipped with his camera, upon arriving at the golf course, confirmed that indeed a light was visible in the middle of the grounds. Was it a "flying saucer"? Approaching cautiously with about twenty local residents, intrigued by the glow, they discovered in the center of the golf course a fine hollowed-out pumpkin, pierced with holes, inside of which a candle was burning.
The "Martian" was none other than a mischievous local from Biarritz...
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After having published about "flying saucers" sightings in France in september and October 1954, many newspapers such as [jbz1] took a "skeptical" twist as a number of hoaxes and misintepretations made their way. I think this played a major role in ending the "1954 French flap."
Of course, this all does not seem very serious; for example, the light is first interpreted. by the journalist, as a saucer landing, then as a "Martian"...
This affair is what is called a "negative case" in ufology.
A negative case is one explained as having an ordinary cause, right away, without the intervention of ufologists or other investigators, by one or more witnesses, or by relatives or third parties.
Often silenced, negative cases are nevertheless important, in that they allow for comparative ufology through the collection of possible ordinary explanations and the comparison between explained and unexplained observations.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques,
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 26, 2025 | First published, [jbz1]. |
