The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Raphèle-lès-Arles.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Provençal reported on page 1 on October 6, 1954, via their press correspondent in Nîmes, an observation near Raphèle in the Bouches-du-Rhône, at about 9 p.m. "Sunday", thus on October 3, 1954, on the National Road 113, from many cars coming from Marseille returning via Arles towards Nîmes.
In one of the cars, were Mr. Loubet, a tradesman in Nimes, accompanied by several relatives and friends, among whom, Miss H. F., 17, a student. She was the first to see two glowing dots whirling forward, while the car was in the vicinity of Raphèle.
For about two minutes the two "craft" slowly lowered to the ground. Arrived a few meters from the plain, they went back to the zenith, taking a dazzling hue, and disappeared. A few minutes later, the same thing happened again.
The newspaper quoted "one of the passengers in the car" as saying:
"These machines changed shape as they moved, sometimes discs, sometimes cigars, but it is possible that it was their position that caused an optical illusion. On arriving at the top of their race, they emitted before disappearing, a big luminous glow."
The newspaper added that several motorists had stopped their vehicles at the same place as Mr. Loubet, and had witnessed the same phenomenon.
In 1979, in their book "La Grande Peur Martienne" ("The Great Martian Scare"), the "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker claimed that they had "strived" to question Mr. Loubet, whom did not have many memories, who had not been impressed by this, and told them that it was a luminous phenomenon slightly ovoid, like an orange glow in the sky, a single glow that moved horizontally.
Subsequently, very succinct summaries mentioning "two witnesses" only appeared in the UFO literature.
[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":
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Nimes (C.P.).
It was approximately 21 hours, Sunday evening. On national road 113, many cars, coming from Marseilles, were returning through Arles towards Nimes. In one of them were seated Mr. Loubet, tradesman in Nimes, accompanied by several parents and friends, among whom, Miss H. F., 17 years, coed. It is her who saw the first two reddish points which advanced whirling, whereas the car was in the surroundings of Raphèle (Bouches-du-Rhône). During approximately two minutes the two machines descended slowly towards the ground. Arrived at a few meters of the plain, they went up towards the zenith, while becoming of a dazzling color, and disappeared. A few minutes later, the same phenomenon occurred again.
"These craft, told us one of the passengers of the car, changed shape as they evolved, sometimes discs, sometimes cigars, but it is possible that it was their position which caused an optical illusion. While arriving at the top of their course, they emitted before disappearing a large luminous glare."
Several motorists stopped their vehicles at the same point than Mr. Loubet and could attend the same phenomenon.
[Ref. fso1:] NEWSPAPER "FRANCE SOIR":
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The "flying saucers" file continues to grow. So does the mystery. Luminous craft - including cigars, cigarillos, discs, spheres, etc. - suddenly appear before the (increasingly less surprised) eyes of mostly credible witnesses.
From these objects, frightening "beings" sometimes emerge, not hesitating to briefly pat a good earthling on the shoulder before vanishing into the atmosphere. That is exactly what reportedly happened once again yesterday morning. Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker's assistant in Loctudy (Finistère), was drawing water when he saw a saucer, 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter, land in front of him. He saw an individual, about 1.2 meters tall, emerge and walk up to him nonchalantly, tapping him on the shoulder while speaking in what was presumably unintelligible language.
The baker's assistant kept his cool and returned to the bakery, where the "stranger" followed him. In the light, Mr. Lucas could make out the visitor's face. It was oval, entirely covered with hair, and had eyes "the size of a crow's egg." The young man called his boss, but before he had time to come down, the presumed Martian had vanished, presumably aboard his saucer, which left no trace.
While sightings of saucers multiply - as our correspondents' reports show - scientists continue to investigate the mysterious phenomenon, but we are still far from offering a reasonable explanation.
It is certain that some witnesses have been mistaken. For example, an investigation in Dunkirk, following statements by a local merchant who claimed that "strange luminous objects were seen in the sky over Bray-Dunes," concluded they were two military planes, whose metallic coating might have caused an illusion.
[Ref. unn1:] NEWSPAPER "L'UNION":
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[Photo caption:] With these pocket hot-air balloons that he manufactured in series using paper and tow, a middle-aged prankster, Mr. Jean d'Oliveira, a retired miner (in the inset), was having tremendous fun. These flying saucers greatly intrigued the people of the North, and Mr. d'Oliveira was hugely amused reading the accounts given by those who had seen his devices drifting with the winds, surrounded by yellow and orange reflections.
PARIS. -- The file on the "flying saucers" is growing thicker. The mystery as well. Luminous craft - among them cigars, cigarillos, discs, spheres, etc. - appear suddenly before the eyes (increasingly less astonished) of witnesses who are for the most part considered reliable. But it appears that the Martians have a particular fondness for our country.
From these objects there sometimes emerge beings, most often frightening, who do not hesitate from time to time to converse with a few Earthlings before returning to their celestial homelands.
Thus, on Monday morning around 4 a.m., Mr. Pierre Lucas, a bakery worker in Loctudy (Finistère), who was drawing water in the bakery courtyard, suddenly saw in the night a craft shaped like a saucer measuring 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter. He saw an individual about 1.20 meters tall come out of it, approach him, and tap him on the shoulder while uttering unintelligible words.
The worker managed to keep his composure and went back into the bakehouse, where the stranger followed him. In the light, Mr. Lucas was able to examine the visitor: he had an oval face, completely covered with hair, and eyes the size of a crow"™s egg. The young man called his employer, but before the latter had time to come down, the stranger had disappeared along with his saucer, of which no trace was found.
This was also the adventure that happened yesterday morning to a good road worker from the Wassy region, who found himself in the presence of a craft beside which stood a small hairy man. The details of this report are given elsewhere.
While saucers are multiplying, scientists are examining these mysterious phenomena, but we are still far from being able to provide a reasonable explanation.
It is certain that several witnesses have been mistaken, but statements by qualified persons are often troubling.
The newspaper of Coulommiers publishes a letter sent by one of its readers, Mr. E. Farnier, a member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, concerning a flying saucer.
In this letter, Mr. Farnier states that he saw above his property at Jouy-sur-Morin a large disc 8 to 10 meters in diameter, "turning in place while emitting reddish-violet glows, with a whistling sound somewhat like the arrival of a jet aircraft. The craft was about 400 meters high and hovered above me for more than 20 minutes. I therefore had," says Mr. Farnier, "ample time to examine it carefully. The craft then disappeared in the direction of Coulommiers."
In his letter Mr. Farnier specifies: "Former commissioner with the Aéro-Club de France and having served in aviation, I was not the victim of a hallucination, and this craft was not a weather balloon but a thick circular wing hovering in place and moving at very high speed while gradually gaining altitude."
Our planet - and France in particular - has undergone a veritable assault during the past twenty-four hours. Judge for yourself:
A PROPELLERED CIGAR was seen over Forges, 20 kilometers from Tulle, moving at low altitude without noise or smoke.
SEVERAL PARISIANS declared they saw yesterday around 4:30 p.m. saucers maneuvering in the sky over the capital. But air traffic was heavy, and mistakes are possible.
OIL TRACES were discovered at Nessier, in the Poitevin marshes, at the exact place where the day before Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau had seen a red saucer.
A CIGAR was seen near Berck-Plage by Mr. Georges Galand, a butcher from Rue, who was driving his car. The mysterious craft flew at low altitude and followed the national road for eight kilometers.
A TOP-SHAPED OBJECT emitting red and green rays was seen in Marseille by four people.
TWO DISCS, sometimes transforming into a cigar, were seen near Arles by several motorists.
TWO "FLYING TAILS" were seen by a beer merchant from Concarneau. They disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.
A FOUL-SMELLING SAUCER (it smelled of nitrobenzene) was seen by Messrs. Bron and Marteauron of Clermont-Ferrand, who were "paralyzed" for a few seconds. Many similar craft were seen in the region, notably at Le Puy.
A THREE-LEGGED SAUCER reportedly landed in the garden of Mr. Montagne, an S.N.C.F. employee living at 13 Rue Ernest-Lavisse in Limoges.
FINALLY, DISCS, CIGARS, SPHERES, ETC., were seen at Quend (Somme), Grandvillars (Territoire de Belfort), Magnac-Laval (Haute-Vienne), Saint-Jean-d"™Angély (Charente-Maritime), Perros-Guirec (Côtes-du-Nord), Nazin (Corrèze), Lézignan (Aude), Bergerac (Dordogne), Nevers, St-Étienne, Aurec-sur-Loire (Loire), Montbrison, and finally at La Rochelle and several neighboring localities.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors quote an article of the newspaper "Le Provençal" for October 6, 1954, adding in title "Raphèle-les-Arles, 9 p.m.":
"On RN 113 [National Road 113] many cars, coming from the Fair of Marseilles returned through Arles towards Nimes. In one of them were seated Mr. Loubet, tradesman in Nimes, accompanied by several parents and friends, among whom Miss H.F., aged 17, coed. The latter was the first to see two reddish points which advanced while whirling, whereas the car was in the surroundings of Raphèle (Bouches-du-Rhône), during 2 mn approximately the two machines dropped slowly towards the ground."
"Arrived at a few meters of the plain, they went up towards the zenith, while taking a dazzling color, and disappeared."
"A few minutes later the same phenomenon happened again."
"These machines, one of the passengers of the car told us, changed shape as they evolved, sometimes discs, sometimes cigars, but it is possible that it is their position which caused an optical illusion. While arriving at the top of their course, they emitted a large luminous glare before disappearing. Several motorists stopped their vehicles at the same point than Mr. Loubet and could watch the same phenomenon."
They add that this case in Raphèle deserves an in-depth investigation.
They say that they made efforts to question Mr. Loubet, and that he did not have a lot of memories and that it had not made an impression on him, and that it was a luminous phenomenon, of a slightly ovoid shape like an orange gleam in the sky, a single gleam which moved horizontally.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 3, 1954 at 09:00, in Raphèle in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, two motorists of Nimes witnessed the evolutions of two crafts which had sometimes the shape of a disc, sometimes that of a cigar.
They indicate as source the newspaper "Le Provençal" for October 6, 1954.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3944: 1954/10/03 21:00 1 4:43:00 E 43:38:40 N 3333 WEU FRN BDR 8:7
RAPHELE-les-ARLES,FR:N113:2/CAR:2 SAUCERs MNVR:SEEN AS DISK,THEN AS CIGAR..
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 115: TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that in 1954, on October 3, in France, in Raphèle (Bouches-du-Rhône), around 21 hours two motorists follow the evolutions of two machines having sometimes the shape of a disc, sometimes that of a cigar.
The source is noted M. Figuet / J.L. Ruchon: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Bouches du Rhone in Raphèle on October 3, 1954 to 21:00 hours, two motorists from Nîmes follow the evolutions of two machines having sometimes the shape of a disc, sometimes that of a cigar.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
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Unidentified.
I do not know whether Barthel and Brucker can be trusted on this case; sometimes, they clearly made up their "investigations", sometimes, they did reaveal the explanation of a case.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Raphèle-lès-Arles, Raphèle, Bouches-du-Rhône, road, machine, craft, disc, cigar, night, Loubet, reddish, night, car, road, multiple, manoeuvers, disc, cigar, dazzling, glare
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 26, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 17, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 5, 2025 | Addition [fso1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | March 11, 2026 | Addition [unn1]. |
