ufo - UFOS at close sight: the 1954 French flap, October 3, Anduze, Gard

Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Anduze.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The regional newspaper Le Provençal, of Marseilles, reported on October 5, 1954, that "one of these mysterious machines" was sighted on Sunday evening, so on the 3rd of October 1954, around 8 p.m., at dusk, over the Pointe St. Felix, in Anduze, behind which it seemed to land.

The main witness was Mr. Edmond Nicetta, brother of the well-known foot runner, fishmonger, rue Benoit-Malon. He was on the terrace of the house of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Brodarier, in the company of this relative, Mrs. Nicetta and Mr. Marcel Alméa, when their attention was attracted by a voluminous circular mass that seemed to rotate. same, with alternating blue and red gleams.

The craft was then almost motionless over the Pointe Saint-Félix; but it soon descended with a slow swinging motion, like a falling dead leaf, and soon disappeared behind the pointe, which is a high hill.

Mr. Nicetta had the impression that the *mysterious craft" had waited for the complete fall of the night to land in open country. He took a long time then to try to see the saucer again when it would leave, but to no avail.

He however had been able to observe it long enough to be certain that it was neither a known aircraft, nor a star or a meteor, nor an optical illusion.

Reports:

A "saucer" evolves during several minutes in the sky of Anduze

FOUR PEOPLE FOLLOWED WITH THEIR EYES THE MYSTERIEUX CRAFT

Nîmes (C.P.).
A new worthy of faith testimony comes to be added to the Gard file on "flying saucers". One of these mysterious machines was seen Sunday evening, around 8 p.m., at the fall of night above the Saint-Felix point, in Anduze, behind which it seemed to land.

It is our fellow-citizen Mr. Edmond Nicetta, brother of the famous foot runner, fishmonger, street Benoit-Malon, who was the principal witness of the fact. He was on the terrace of the house of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Brodarier, in company of this relationship, Mrs. Nicetta and Mr. Marcel Alméa, when their attention was drawn by a bulky circular mass which seemed to rotate, presenting gleams alternatively blue and red.

The craft was then approximately motionless above the Saint-Félix point; but it soon started to go down with a slow rocking movement, like a falling leaf, and disappeared soon behind the point, which is a high hill. The appearance had lasted several minutes.

Mr. Nicetta had the impression that the mysterious machine had waited the complete fall of the night to land in open country. He took care lengthily then to try to re-examine the saucer at its departure, but in vain.

He was able nevertheless to observe it long enough to be certain that it was not any known apparatus, neither a star neither a meteor nor an optical illusion.

AFTER THE SAUCERS AND CIGARS

Here come the barrels, discs, pots, crescents, and other flying objects!

Le Havre, October 5. -- Mr. André Lefebvre, a taxi driver, who was parked last night around 8:00 p.m. at the port, saw a glowing disc that, west of Deauville, rose into the sky, leaving behind a phosphorescent trail and a light smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible for ten minutes, was also witnessed by several sailors returning to their boat.

A "big headlight" in the Haute-Loire

LE PUY. -- Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, from Saint-Étienne, who were camping in Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire), saw in the sky a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight moving at high speed, at about 2,000 meters altitude. The craft emitted a red-orange light beam and followed a north-south trajectory. When it disappeared, a second craft similar to the first and appearing to follow it appeared, followed the same direction, and also disappeared.

Around the same time, several people saw, above the Aurec church tower, similar crafts that, after remaining stationary for a moment, sped across the sky toward the southwest.

"Detachable crescent" in Liévin

LENS. -- On Sunday evening, around 9:30 p.m., in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, a craft in the shape of a pot, spinning on itself, was seen in the sky by two people. It emitted a reddish glow and moved quickly.

At the same time, a craft that, this time, had the shape of a crescent, was seen in the sky in Liévin. After hovering for a few minutes, the crescent split in two. The upper part remained stationary, while the other landed in a field, between two haystacks, from where it took off shortly after to reattach to the part that remained in the air.

Barrel in the Charente

ANGOULEME. -- On Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., on the road from Montmoreau-Ville-Bois-Lavalette (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22 years old, clearly saw, in the light of his moped's headlight, a sort of barrel about 1.80 meters high, studded with golden nails, swaying on the roadside. When Mr. Allary passed the mysterious craft, he turned around about 10 meters away but saw nothing.

Witnesses saw, this afternoon, at the location indicated by Mr. Allary, traces about 7 meters long in the grass by the roadside.

Furthermore, on the same night, Miss Bellanger, residing in Cognac, saw, at an altitude of about 300 meters, a cigar-shaped, orange-colored craft moving slowly over the city.

Luminous sphere in the Saône-et-Loire

LYON. -- Several people reported seeing in the Epinac-les-Mines region (Saône-et-Loire), a kind of large luminous sphere moving slowly and strangely through the sky.

Intrigued motorists stopped on the road and were able to observe this sphere for several minutes before seeing it suddenly disappear toward Le Creusot.

A similar phenomenon was observed in Ain and in the northern Rhône department, near the Col des Écharmeaux, as well as in Isère, near Morestel.

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Clermont-Ferrand residents saw last night, around 7:00 p.m., a luminous point in the sky the size of a large star, which frequently changed color, shifting from white to green with shades of orange. The luminous point appeared to be rotating. Upon disappearing, it left behind an orange plume.

Flying saucer in the Gard

NIMES. -- A flying saucer was seen on Sunday around 8:00 p.m., in the sky over Anduze, by Mr. Edmond Nicetta and several members of his family. The craft emitted alternating blue and red lights. It remained almost stationary above Pointe Saint-Félix, though appearing to rotate on itself. It soon began to descend like a falling leaf before disappearing.

Flying saucers in the Paris sky

PARIS, October 5. -- Several Parisians reported seeing flying saucers this afternoon moving through the sky over the capital. Passersby claimed to have seen one around 4:30 p.m., near Porte-Dorée.

Mr. Pierre Allouis was going about his business in a taxi when the vehicle stopped at a red light. Hearing, he said, a high-pitched whistle, he looked out the car door and saw a flying craft fleeing upwards, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

Mr. Allouis described the saucer as a disc larger than a normal plane and silver in color.

The same testimony is provided by Mr. Gilbert Bacon and Mr. Paul Julien. The latter, however, believes that it was not a saucer but a flying wing shaped like a triangle with rounded edges.

The testimony of Mr. Nicetta Edmond, and several other persons from Anduze (Gard), October 2 or 3, 1954, gives an example of type III observation A. According to these witnesses, a "voluminous movement appearing to turn on itself, and presenting alternately red and blue gleams "was seen motionless in the sky, then descended with a swaying motion.

Jacques Vallée reports that on October the 2nd or the 3rd of 1954, in Anduze in the department of the Gard, Mr. Nicetta Edmond and several other people saw a "large circular mass appearing to rotate and presenting gleams alternatively red and blue," motionless in the sky. It then descended with a rocking movement.

"Voluminous circular mass." October 2nd.

At Anduze, France, on October 2nd, a M. Nicetta Edmond spotted what he said was a "voluminous circular mass" in the sky. This "mass" seemed to be moving, evidently revolving, since red and blue lights being emitted from the mass were only visible at regular intervals.

While under observation the mysterious mass lost altitude, rocking back and forth as it descended. Several others besides M. Edmond viewed the phenomenon. 13.

13. Vallee, Jacques and Janine. Challenge to Science. New York, N.Y. Ace Books, Inc., 1966. p.77.

French ufologist and author Jean Sider learned in an article from the newspaper "Le Provençal", of Marseilles, for October 5, 1954, that on October 3 perhaps, in the evening, in Anduze in the department of the Gard, Mr. Edmond Nicetta, fishmonger residing street Benoît Malon in Anduze, was at his mother-in-law's, Mrs. Bordarier, in company of Mr. Marcel Aimès. He then saw a bulky circular mass appearing to rotate, and presenting gleams alternatively blue and red. The machine was motionless above the Point St Felix. It soon started to go down with a slow rocking movement, like a falling leaf, and disappeared behind the point Saint Felix. Mr. Nicetta had the impression that the machine had waited until twilight to land in open country. He observed it long enough to eliminate a known aircraft.

3911: 1954/10/02 19:00 5 3:59:00 E 44:03:00 N 3322 WEU FRN GRD 6:7

ANDUZE,FR:LRG SLNT CIRC.MASS HVRS:ALTERNATES RED+BLU:ROCKS+^^/OPEN FLD:/r3p67

Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 319 : PASTURE

Belgian ufologist Godelieve van Overmeire notes in her catalogue that in France, in 1954, October the 2nd or 3rd, in Anduze (Gard), the testimony of Mr. Nicetta Edmond and several other people, tells about a bulky circular mass appearing to rotate and presenting alternatively red and blue gleams, motionless in the sky, then descending with a swinging movement.

The source is indicated as Jacques Vallée and Jeanine Vallée in "Les phénomènes insolites de l'espace", hardcover edition LAFFONT 1978, p. 77.

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Gard in Anduze on October 3, 1954 at an unknown hour in the evening, "the witness observes a bulky circular mass appearing to rotate and presenting alternatively blue and red gleams. The object was motionless above the St Felix point. It then moved, going down slowly like a dead leaf and disappeared behind the point."

The website indicates that on 2 October 1954 at 20:00 in Anduze, France, an "unidentified object was sighted, that had an unusual appearance or performance. One object was observed by six witnesses in a pasture for ten minutes." "At 8:00 p.m. in Poncey-sur-Lignon and the region of Cote-d'Or, France several persons observed a huge cigar-shaped luminous object fly silently to the east."

The sources are given as Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

Explanations:

The Pointe (peak) of Saint-Félix de Pallières is located north of downtown Anduze; an exact direction cannot be determined because of the extent of Anduze and the lack of a precise street address of the observation place. The peak of this ridge is visually quite high:

We have Mars and the Moon in the South; they are not in the correct direction and do not match the description either; which is more like a star or the planet Venus.

Towards the North, we have the brilliant star Capella, at the azimuth 28° 20' and the elevation 7° 40', but like all the other stars that night, it does not "descend", it "goes up".

We are told that Mr. Nicetta thought about a star, among other things, but discarded it.

In the end, the observation that made me think of an astronomical misinterpretation leaves me with an "unidentified" of moderate strangeness.

Keywords:

Anduze, Gard, Edmond Nicetta, Brodardier, Marcel Alméa, fishmonger, hill, Saint-Felix, multiple, mass, large, rotation, gleams, red, blue, swinging, descent, Bordarier, Marcel Aimès, duration, falling leaf, circular, red, blue, gleam

Case Nr.	Date of observation	Place of observation	Country of observation	Hour of observation	Classification
19541002	02.10.1954	Anduze	France
19541002	02.10.1954	Anduze	France		NL
19541003	03.10.1954	Anduze	France	20.00

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	October 1, 2005	First published.
1.0	Patrick Gross	February 27, 2009	Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [uda1].
1.1	Patrick Gross	December 12, 2016	Additions [lgs1], [ubk1].
1.2	Patrick Gross	October 2, 2019	Additions [jve8], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet."
1.3	Patrick Gross	April 12, 2025	Addition [brn1].

The 1954 French flap:

October 3, 1954, Anduze, Gard: