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October 17, 1954, Bouquet, Gard:

Reference for this case: 17-Oct-54-Bouquet.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The regional newspapers Le Provençal and Le Midi Libre both for October 19, 1954, reported via their Press correspondent in Alès, that a "flying cigar with four feet" was seen in the sky of the Cévennes:

"Sunday" - thus on October 17, 1954 - around 3 p.m., Mr. Soulier, shoemaker in Vézenobres, was hunting in the town of Bouquet, near Alès, when he suddenly heard a noise similar to that of a chain descending at the bottom of a well.

Intrigued, he looked up and saw at a height of only 30 meters a cylinder-shaped craft descending vertically. This "cigar", of a metallic blue color, 5 to 6 meters high, 3 meters in diameter, carried at its base four crutches.

The craft had stood motionless for more than a minute, then climbed back up at a vertiginous pace, and Mr. Soulier "heard the same chain sound again."

Jean Sider reported this in his 1997 book on the 1954 French wave, and Larry Hatch then recorded it in synthetized form in his database in the 2000s.

Around 2005, Luc Chastan recorded the case in his Web database, indicating that in the Gard in Brouzet-les-Alès on October 17, 1954, at 03:00 p.m., the "is a hunter on the prowl under the large trees of the Bouquet mount when he hears a noise similar to theshrieking noises of a chain. He comes out of his hiding place and then sees rising in the airs an object in the shape of a cigar having four feet under the fuselage. The witness estimates the dimensions of the object as 6 m initially evolving at low altitude before disappearing quickly at high speed." He gave the source as Le Provençal, but without specifying the publication date.

The idea that it was probably a helicopter had not surfaced.

Reports:

[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":

Scan.

The flying saucer courier (Continued)

A FLYING CIGAR WITH FOUR FEET IN THE SKY OF THE CEVENNES

Ales (C.P.).

Mr. Soulier, of Vezenobres (Gard) was hunting Sunday afternoon and was in the waiting under the large trees of the Mount-Bouquet when, around 3 p.m., he suddenly heard a strange noise, similar to the squealing of a well chain.

He came out of his hiding-place and had the surprise, he claims, to see rising in the airs an unknown craft in the shape of a cigar, which comprised four feet under its fuselage.

Mr. Soulier estimates the dimension of the object as approximately 6 meters and clearly saw it evolving at a very low altitude (roughly 50 meters) before disappearing quickly at a high speed.

IN THE NORTH OF PIERRELATTE (THE DROME)

A double luminous ball went down in gimlet

Avignon (C.P.).

We accounted yesterday how a farmer of the surroundings of Entraigues had seen Thursday, at 6 p.m., above this locality a disc shaped craft. The same day, more in the north, and a few minutes later, in Pierrelatte, at the edge of main road RN7, a former geometrician of the Geographical Institute of the Army, Mr. Na..., in company of his wife, saw "a large luminous ball separated by a non-luminous space".

This double object which seemed distant of one or two kilometers appeared to go down at an acute angle while describing a gimlet. Observed with binoculars, it disappeared by accelerating its speed behind the curtain of trees that borders the road.

A few minutes later, a shining object suddenly appeared rather high in the sky, but in the same direction as that which had been observed previously. It remained motionless in the sky, lighting and dying out alternatively like an intermittent headlight. With the glasses, the object seemed to rotate. At 06:28 p.m., the phenomenon suddenly ceased to appear.

Let us add that Mr. and Mrs. Na... were to declare at the town hall of Pierrelatte the facts of which they had been witnesses.

The coincidence of the hour and that of description seem indeed to show that it was the unidentified object seen the same day in Entraigues.

A deputy puts a written question in connection with the "flying saucers"

Foix (A.F.P).

FOIX. -- Following the many appearance of flying machines of unknown type currently reported in all the areas of France, Mr. Rene Dejean, deputy of Ariège (socialist) addressed to the president of the Council a written question asking him among other questions:

- "Whether were created or not a service missioned to gather the existing documentation on this matter and to study the nature and the origin of the said machines.

- "Whether the information currently collected and gathered makes it possible to absolutely exclude the assumption of machines piloted or controlled by living beings of unknown species and origin.

- "Whether the government has, on the contrary, sufficient information to allot the production of these machines to the industry of a foreign Country.

- "Whether in this last case the international agreements signed by France already allowed consultations relating to the use of such machines in a possible conflict.

A LUMINOUS TRAIL IN THE SKY OF LA BASTIDE (VAR)

La Bastide (C.P.).

On October 14, towards 06:15 p.m., from a point located on the road of Bargemon, in La Bastide (Var), at approximately 6 kms of Bargemon, a retired colonel living La Bastide, saw very clearly in a very clear sky, and during one half-second approximately, a yellow luminous trail, followed with sparks. This luminous trail moving towards the North-West, was seen on the heights dominating in Bargemon in the north.

Other people living either in La Bastide, or the surrounding villages, at the same hour, saw the same luminous trail moving in the same direction.

FIREBALLS IN LIRAC (GARD)

Avignon (C.P.).

In the evening of Sunday, at 10:50 p.m., la population of the small village of Lirac in the Gard, at forty kilometers in the North-West of Avignon, saw with astonishment the "play" of several luminous red balls which exceeded themselves several times in continuation above the locality before disappearing.

[Ref. mle1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MIDI LIBRE":

Scan.

The flying craft

(Continued from the first page)

ernational treaties signed by France already allowed consultations relating to the use of such machines in a possible conflict".

A "cigar" near Alès

Sunday, around 15 o'clock, Mr. Soulier, shoe-maker in Vézenobres, was hunting in the commune of Bouquet, close to Alès, when he suddenly heard a noise similar to that of a chain going down at the bottom from a well. Intrigued, he looked up and saw 30 meters high only a machine of cylindrical form going down vertically. This "cigar", of a metallic blue, 5 to 6 meters in height, by 3 meters in diameter, carried four crutches at its base.

The craft remained motionless more than one minute, then climbed back vertically to a vertiginous pace. And Mr. Soulier again the same noise of chain heard.

A luminous ball in the Lozère

A resident of Saint-Privat-de-Vallorgue (the Lozere), absolutely worthy of faith, stated he saw a luminous ball from 3 to 6 meters in diameter, which suddenly rose in the sky while changing color.

Mr. Maillet adds that the sphere hovered without any noise and that it left behind a light whitish cloud.

A "melon" in Alsace

After the cigars, the brushes, the barrels, the rugby balls, "melons" are appearing, this time in the sky of Alsace. Several people, including pilots of the Flying Club of Strasbourg, claim to have seen a shining machine, melon-shaped, and leaving a trace of two meters white-orange in color, flying over the area of the Bas-Rhin.

It is said this craft was seeing almost at the same hour in Strasbourg, in Haguenau and in Wissembourg.

Soccer unthroned by the "saucers"

Sunday afternoon, in Langres, the show was not on the ground, but in the sky.

During more than one hour, the 400 attendees of the soccer game managed to follow the moves of an unknown apparatus which was at very high altitude. Some believed that it was a sounding-balloon but, others say, it does not look very likely, because, before disappearing, the craft moved in opposite direction of the wind.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

Ufologist and author Jean Sider discovered this case in the newspaper Le Midi Libre for October 19, 1954. The case occurred at approximately 03:00 p.m. on October 17, 1954 at Le Bouquet near the city of Alès in the department of Gard.

Mr. Soulier, shoemaker in Vézénobre, was out hunting when he perceived a noise similar to that of a chain going down to the bottom of a well. He was intrigued and looked up and saw within thirty meters of altitude only an apparatus of cylindrical shape which went down vertically towards the ground.

The craft, which appeared as a metalized blue cigar, had five to six meters in height by three meters in diameter and had four crutches at its base. It remained motionless during more than one minute then went back vertically at a vertiginous pace. The witness, at this time, heard the chain noise again.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

4175: 1954/10/17 15:00 2 4:17:20 E 44:08:00 N 3333 WEU FRN GRD 7:6

Le BOUQUET,FR:HUNTER:CHAIN NOISE:BLU-MTLC CYL ^/4 LEGS:^/SAME SOUND:/LDLN#320

Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 112 : MOUNTAINS

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Gard in Brouzet les Alès on October 17, 1954 at 15:00 hours, "The witness is a hunter on the prowl under the large trees of the Bouquet mount when he hears a noise similar to theshrieking noises of a chain. He comes out of his hiding place and then sees rising in the airs an object in the shape of a cigar having four feet under the fuselage. The witness estimates the dimensions of the object as 6 m initially evolving at low altitude before disappearing quickly at high speed."

The source is indicated as "Le Provençal".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 17 October 1954 at 15:00, in Le Bouquet, France, there was a sighting.

The website indicates that the source is "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."

Explanations:

Map.

Probable helicopter.

Bouquet is 4 km in straight line from Brouzet-les-Alès; the witness was probably in the mountain between these two villages.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Le Bouquet, Brouzet-les-Alès, Gard, Soulier, noise, craft, object, cylinder, cigar, feet, blue, metallic, motionless, vertical, fast

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross March 26, 2005 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross January 28, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [uda1].
1.1 Patrick Gross July 14, 2010 Addition [mle1].
1.2 Patrick Gross December 12, 2019 Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Possible helicopter."

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This page was last updated on December 12, 2019.