The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 7-Oct-54-Le-Mans.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the national newspaper France-Soir for October 9, 1954, we are told that a petrifying ray of green color has nailed to the ground, near Le Mans, on the Nationale Le Mans - Paris, workers from the Régie Renault near whom a saucer had landed.
In a local newspaper, Le Pays d'Auge - Tribune, for October 26, 1954, we are told that a very brilliant disc was seen in Boulogne-sur-Seine by about ten workers of the Régie Renault. The phenomenon had been observed in broad daylight for half an hour.
In his 1958 book on the French wave of 1954, the pioneer ufologist Aimé Michel indicates without giving a source that on October 7, 1954, around 6:20 a.m., workers from the Renault factories were riding in groups on bicycles on Route Nationale 23 east of Le Mans, when they suddenly experienced an unpleasant tingling sensation all over their body, as an intense greenish light burst from a luminous object posed near the road. They dismounted with difficulty because they were almost paralyzed. After a few seconds, the luminous object flew away and left in low ground.
In their 1975 book, ufologists Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier tell the same story, still without a source, but they date it October 5, 1954, as Jacques Vallée does elsewhere. They indicate that the workers had arrived about 3 km east of the city when the tingling occurred.
Many other authors mentioned the case later, without additional information.
[Ref. fso1:] NEWSPAPER "FRANCE-SOIR":
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[Ref. ale1:] NEWSPAPER "ABBEVILLE LIBRE":
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According to the account of some people who have seen flying saucers and Martians, the latter do not measure more than 1 m to 1.20 m., wear a helmet and do not speak French.
In the Dordogne, a farmer claims to have been accosted by two passengers in a flying "tureen". This time, both men were perfectly normal.
Flying saucers continue to fly over the skies of France. Near Le Mans, at Châteauroux and at Quimper, these luminous apparatuses were seen.
[Ref. pat1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PAYS D'AUGE - TRIBUNE":
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In Audruicq (P.-de-C.), MM. Maurice Ramette and Léon Gégnier saw, high in the sky, an object of round shape and white in color which was moving towards them. Suddenly, the craft tilted and disappeared at breakneck speed.
In Hesdin (P.-de-C.), Mr. Jean Gambier, a police officer, was on his way to his duty when his attention was attracted to a blaze in the sky. Above the forest, a red object seemed to descend from the starry sky. The lower part of the craft left behind a luminous trail.
Many residents of Huby-Saint-Leu, a village near Hesdin, also witnessed this phenomenon.
A resident of the village of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales), to whom two motorcyclists wanted to request information, fled, the other day, shouting: "The Martians are coming". Caught by the bikers, who, to reassure him, had removed their helmets, the farmer admitted that if he had had a gun in his hands he would have killed them.
A saucer was seen by the supervisor of a penitentiary center in Ecrouves, Mr. Roger Thiriet, residing in Blénod-les-Toul (Meurthe-et-Moselle). The jailer's saucer is not exactly fresh since it would have appeared on October 10. But Mr. Thiriet remained silent for a long time "fearing to be the laughing stock of his colleagues". However, his secret seemed to him too burdensome, and here is the account given to the gendarmes by this balanced man:
- I returned to the center by motorbike, when around 6:30 a.m., near the railway bridge, near Charmes-la-Côte, my headlight lighted an aluminum-colored saucer appearing from the fog, posed on the ground. The craft was 2 meters in diameter and 1.40 meters high. It was surmounted by a dome pierced by two portholes.
"I stopped my engine immediately; but as I approached, the saucer rose without noise."
It turns out that, this same October 10, a machine identical to [Continued on page 3]
A very bright flying disc was seen by a group of workers over a street in Rome. It is one of the innumerable appearances of the "flying saucers" which visit Italy at the moment. Their arrival provokes a strong emotion. In Livorno, a young man, Bruno Senesi, was sent urgently to the mad house. He had presented himself, very agitated, at the city hospital, shouting: "They come to take me... I saw them land in a field... Discs big like that, all in light and in smoke, full of Martians, small and red."
The people of Bondowoso, in east Java, were terrified when they saw a white and green disc, which passed at high speed over the city and disappeared in half a minute. Witnesses described the object as a "large plate" with a rotating movement.
A "Stratojet" plane which flies daily over the Rhône valley, at an altitude of about 10,000 meters, was mistaken the other day, by several inhabitants of Vienna, for a flying saucer.
Indeed, a strange phenomenon occurred after the passage of the powerful jet plane. Kinds of parachutes were formed in the sky, animated of strange movements, which soon reached the ground.
The witnesses of the phenomenon seized this matter and one of them put a little of the substance in a box and had it photographed immediately. A few hours later, the contents of the box, although waterproof, had evaporated.
It seems that the condensation in the rarefied and cold atmosphere of certain compounds of the "stratojet" fuel can cause white or iridescent formations moving at high speed and thus gives rise to various interpretations.
This observation made above the aerodrome of Vienne, is identical to that already reported in its time, by a resident of Oloron.
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(continued from page 1)
Aussay, a small town near Dieppe, was overflown by a mysterious craft which emitted a strange whistling sound. It had the shape of a gigantic cigar thay could reach 15 to 18 meters in length; in the center of the craft there was a disc surmounted by a dome.
In Villepinte (Aude), Mr. Henri Rouquet, 22, was returning home when he noticed a luminous form that was moving at high altitude. Suddenly, the craft lands not far from the farm where the young man lives. Mr. Bouquet then hastened to warn his family and several neighbors, who were able to observe the saucer distinctly. After a few minutes, the disc rose silently and quickly disappeared.
In Ham (Somme), three motorcyclists, MM. Marc and Gilles Lemaire, and Jean Ivard, were going to their work when they noticed in the sky a red disc followed by a flaming cone which advanced at the speed of an airplane. At the precise moment when the craft was above the motorcyclists, the engines of their machines stopped suddenly and the headlights went out. Everything returned to normal when the mysterious object moved away.
A motorist in the Cherbonnières region was driving with his 3 and a half year old son on the road from Sérifère to Paillé when, around 9:30 p.m., he and the child experienced painful tingling sensations, similar to electric shocks; which increased as they progressed.
The car engine suddenly stopped and the headlights went out. The child started to cry. A bright glow, passing from bright red to orange, dazzled the occupants of the car, who see a motionless craft in space. Then what they recognized as a flying saucer disappeared in the night.
been seen in Longwy, in the north of the department.
- It must be a secret weapon, said Mr. Thiriet (who does not believe in Martians), built by a foreign power. I think the craft would come from Antarctica.
Two motorists from Royan, Mr. Labestière and his wife, saw in the sky "a kind of waddling balance".
- The scourge was dazzling green, witnesses said. One of the plates was red, the other orange. After remaining motionless, the two plates detached and landed in a field. Two little beings came out of it and, after crossing paths, changed their plates. The "flying balance" then disappeared, plates included, in a dazzling flash.
In Ollainville, near Arpajon, six residents of the locality noticed an incandescent object which at first looked like a star and was revealed as it approached in the shape of a cigar. Coming from the west, the object disappeared to the east.
In Saint-Fiacre, not far from Etampes, several people saw a craft in the shape of a gigantic star spinning above the village for 20 minutes.
The mayor of Nexon (Haute Vienne) saw a very bright metallic hemisphere hovering at breakneck speed, without noise.
A very brilliant disc was even seen in Boulogne-sur-Seine, by a dozen workers from the Régie Renault. The phenomenon had been observed in broad daylight for half an hour.
In Trevedec (C.-du-N.), several people saw a flying saucer hovering over the sea.
Near Aire-sur-Lys, a worker at the steel works in Isbergues saw a luminous sphere descend slowly. When it touched the ground, the sky lit up.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that on October 7, at about 06:20 A.M., a group of workmen of the Renault car manufacturer plant were riding their bicycle on the National Road RN 23 at the east of Mans, at about thirty kilometers in the south-east of the place of the sighting by Mr. Tremblay the same day and time.
They suddenly had the sensation of an unpleasant tickling in the entire body, at the moment when an intense greenish light spouted out from a luminous object posed near the road.
They put foot at ground with difficulty for they were almost paralysed. After a few seconds, the luminous object flew away and left at near ground level altitude.
[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 7, 1954: Le Mans (12 km ISL in the East of,on Rte.Nale.23--Sarthe): workers of the Renault plant (take off luminous green craft + paralysis)
[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
The author indicates that the observation of the workmen of Le Mans on October 10, 1954 lasted some seconds. They were riding bicycles in the morning when they saw a greenish light spouting out of a luminous object posed on the edge of the road and felt a "discomfortable prickling in the entire body" so that they had to get down from the bicycles because they felt almost paralyzed.
The source is indicated as "M. II, p. 240."
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 261 | 07 | 10 | 1954 | 06 | 20 | 1 | LE MANS | F | 001 | C | 240 |
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
197
Oct. 05, 1954, 06:30 a.m., Le Mans (France).
East of Le Mans on Route N23, Renault employees were going to work when they saw near the road a luminous object on the ground and felt "pricklings and a sort of paralysis." The object emitted a burst of green light and flew away very low over the fields. (42; Vuillequez; M 143) (France-Soir, 9 Oct. 1954)
[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on October 7, 1954, Renault employees who went to work early in the morning, saw close to the road in the east of Le Mans, a luminous object on the ground and felt ticklings and "a kind of paralysis." The object emitted an explosion of green lights and flew away very low on the fields.
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
In a list of cases that the magazine called for investigation or re-investigation, there was:
197 10/5/54 Le Mans
[Ref. ous1:] "OURANOS" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE:
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09) 10/07/1954 Nationale 23, east of Le Mans (Sarthe) (06:30)
Witnesses workers of the Renault plants.
The witnesses weere going to their workplace. Suddenly, they felt an unpleasant tingling throughout the body as an intense greenish glow shot from a luminous object near the road. Somehow, because they were half "paralyzed", they dismounted. The discomfort lasted a few seconds until the object flew away and disappeared quickly at near gound level.
M. [Aimé Michel] 2 p. 240 - V.c [Vallée catalog] Nr 197 (Vallée dates the factof 10/05/1954).
[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two authors indicate that on October 5, 1954, at 06:30, a group of workmen of the Renault car manufacturer went to work, riding bicycles on the main road RN 23. Whereas they arrived at approximately 3 km of the city, and at the east of the city, they felt an unpleasant tickling on all their bodies, while an intense greenish light spout out of a luminous object landed close to the road. They put their feet on the ground, because they were almost paralysed. This lasted a few seconds, after that the luminous object flew away and disappeared quickly, hedgehopping.
[Ref. pdl1:] PIERRE DELVAL:
In his chapter on the cases of paralysis or drousiness of UFO witnesses during their experience, Pierre Delval indicates 12 cases from the French flap of 1954, among those, that on National Road 23 in the East of Le Mans in the department of the Sarthe, on October 5, 1954.
Workmen of the Renault factories which were going to work by bicycle suddenly felt unpleasant ticklings in all the body, while an intense greenish gleam spouted out of a luminous object posed close to the road.
With difficulties, half "paralysed", they put foot at ground. The faintness lasted a few seconds, until the object flew away and quickly disappeared flying at near ground level.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The authors note:
Le mans - 72 - 6:30 a.m.: wintess not found after investigation. Same hour than the case in Saint-Jean-d'Assé.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that at the same time of the Saint-Jean-d'Assé sighting, i.e. 06:20 p.m., workers of "Renault" [car factory] thirty kilometers East from Saint-Jean-d'Assé felt uncomfortable tickling at the approach of an object posed on the edge of the road.
Further in the same page they indicate that at 06:30 a.m. on National Road RN 23 in the East of Le Mans, Renault workmen rode in group by bicycle when they suddenly felt unpleasant tickling in all the body while a greenish light spouted out of a luminous object posed at the edge of the road.
They put foot at ground with difficulty, almost paralysed.
That lasted some second then the object flew away and disappeared quickly at near ground level.
They indicate that their sources are case 197 of the Vallée catalogue giving the date of October 5; Aime Michel in "A propos des S.V." giving the date of October 7; C Garreau and R. Lavier in "Face aux E.T." giving the date of October 5; the G.A.B.R.I.E.L. group in Ouranos "Special Paralysis" giving the date of October 7.
[Ref. jge1:] JEAN-FRANCOIS GILLE:
| ICOD | DESIGNATION | (57) | DATE | JV4 | JV1 | COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 047 | 1020 | LE MANS, N23, 3 km E. | RF72 | 541007 | 197 | 261 | |
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| Nr of the J. C. Fumoux list | Nr of Francat list | Localization | Date | Class | Credibility | Sources | Number of W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 047 | 144 | Le Mans 3 km E st N. 23 | 07/10 | CE2 | NI C.V. [= Non Identifié, Catalogue Vallée.] | 2 - p. 129 | + T |
[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 144 | CE2 | 07 10 1954 | 06.30 | Le Mans RN23 | 72000 C4 | NI but D [= Non identified but dubious.] |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
October 5th. Le Mans, France. (6:30 a.m.)
A hour and a half later [than the Loctudy alleged CE3 on October 5 at 4 a.m.!] some men driving to work on Rt.N23 near Le Mans passed a luminous object resting on the ground next to the highway. At the same moment the men suffered a strange sensation, a "prickling and a sort of paralysis." With a flash of green light, the object was seen to lift off and speed away over the treetops. 52.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
Jean Sider indicates that on October 7, 1954 at 06:30 a.m., on the N23 road, east of Le Mans, in the Sarthe, workers of Renault ride in a group on bicycles, when suddenly, a light springs from an object posed near the road. The witnesses feel an unpleasant tingling throughout the body, they dismount as good as they abel able to as they are almost paralyzed, effect that lasts only a few seconds.
Jean Sider indicates that the source is Aimé Michel, p. 178. He comments that it is likely the same phenomenon as that of the case of Saint-Jean-d'Assé the same day.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4005: 1954/10/07 06:30 12 0:15:00 E 48:01:00 N 3333 WEU FRN SRT 8:8
N23 E/Le MANS,FR:LUMn.OBJ/GND:PARTIAL PARALYSIS/BICYCLERS:GONE/FLASH:
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 130 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that on October 7, 1954, in the East of Le Mans, "workmen of 'Renault' ride by bicycle in group towards 6:30. Suddenly they feel unpleasant tickling in all the body. A greenish light spouts out of a luminous object posed close to the road. They put foot at ground with difficulty, they are almost paralysed. This lasts a few seconds, the luminous object flies away and disappears quickly at near-ground level."
She indicates that the sources are "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: 'Ovni, Premier dossier complet...' Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 130" and "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - J'AI LU COLL. - p. 269 qui date cela du 5 octobre".
[Ref. kbd1:] KEITH BASTERFIELD:
The Australian ufologist indicates that on 7 October 1954 at 0620 in Le Mans, France, several workmen were riding their bikes, when they felt a "prickling" sensation. They saw greenish light coming from a luminous object near the road. Partially paralysed they got off their bikes. The object departed.
He says it is one of the 15 cases in France in 1954 where there was a reported paralysis of the witness or witnesses when they were within a certain distance of a low-level UFO, distances that are 6m (1 case), 20m (2), 50m (2) 100m (1) and 150m (1). He adds that there seems little doubt about a relationship between the UFO and the paralysis, as the paralysis commenced upon observing the UFO and then ceased when the UFO left.
The source is noted "Michel, A. 1958. Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery. New York. Criterion Books. p143".
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Donald Johnson indicates that on October 5, 1954, at 6:30 a.m., east of Le Mans, France on Route N23, some Renault employees were going to work when they saw by the road a luminous object on the ground and felt a prickling sensation and a form of paralysis. The glowing UFO emitted a burst of green light and flew away, very low over the fields.
Donald Johnson indicates the source as Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 218.
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
Jerome Beau indicates that on Tuesday, October 5, 1954 at 6:30 in the east of Le Mans in France, on the N23, Renault employees going to their workplace see close to the road 1 luminous object on the ground. They then feel tickings and a kind of paralysis. The object emits a gushing of green light then left flying very low above the fields.
Jérôme Beau indicates as source "France-Soir, October 9, 1954. Vuillequez".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Sarthe in Le Mans on October 7, 1954, at 06:30 hours, "In the east of Le Mans, on main road 23, Renault employees going to their work by bicycle saw close to the road a luminous object on the ground. They then felt 'tickling and a kind of paralysis.' At the time when the object emitted a gush of green light. They had to get down of their bicycles with difficultie. The object left at the end of a few seconds while flying very low above the fields."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Chroniques des apparitions E.T. par Vallée Jacques ** DENOEL 1972 - coll. J'AI L".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 5 October 1954 at 06:30, in Le Mans, France, East of Le Mans on Route N23, Renault employees were going to work when they saw near the road a luminous object on the ground and felt "pricklings and a sort of paralysis." The object emitted a burst of green light and flew away very low over the fields.
The website comments: "An object was observed. Physiological effects were noted. One green ball was observed in clear weather by five male witnesses on a highway."
The sources are indicated as Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956; Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; 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); Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hall, Richard H., The UFO Evidence, NICAP, Washington, 1964; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 5, 1954 - At 6:30 a.m., east of Le Mans, France on Route N23, some Renault employees were going to work when they saw by the road a luminous object on the ground and felt a prickling sensation and a form of paralysis. The glowing UFO emitted a burst of green light and flew away, very low over the fields. (Source: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 218, case # 197).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541009 | 09.10.1954 | Le Mans | France | CE II | ||||||
| 19541010 | 10.10.1954 | Le Mans | France | CE II |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 5 or 7 1954. 0630hrs.
LE MANS (SARTHE : FRANCE)
East of Le Mans on Rte 23, Renault employees were going to work when they saw, near the road, a luminous object on the ground and felt a prickling and a sort of paralysis. The object emitted a burst of green light and flew away very low over the fields.
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I am not sure there is any value in the comment by Barthel and Brucker: they claim they did not find "the" witness; but there were several witnesses, and none appeared to have been named.
Boulogne-sur-Seine, cited as the location in Le Pays d'Auge - Tribune - a Normandy newspaper - for October 26, 1954, is now Boulogne-Billancourt, then and still now the seat of a major Renault plant. It is 175 km as the crow flies from Le Mans, where France-Soir is located, and where a Renault factory was also located.
So I have the impression that Le Pays d'Auge - Tribune just decided that since it happened near a Renault factory, it must have been in Boulognesur-Seine.
Clearly, a detailed contemporary source is missing; which makes it difficult for me to know the reality of the story, unexplained as it is. Maybe an alien craft, but is it reliable?
It should be noted that on October 7, 1954, around 6:20 a.m. - 6:30 a.m., it seems that there was a meteor pass, reported in the Sarthe among other places. So: possible meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Le Mans, Sarthe
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 22, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 5, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [uda1], [jbu1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | April 25, 2009 | Addition [mcs1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | May 5, 2009 | Addition [fru1], [goe1], [uda1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | June 26, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | October 8, 2014 | Addition [nip1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | December 18, 2016 | Addition [lgs1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | January 3, 2017 | Additions [fso1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | January 31, 2020 | Additions [pat1], [ous1], [jge1], [mft1], [mft2], [jsr1], [lhh1], [prn2]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | November 13, 2021 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | May 1, 2022 | Additions [gqy2], [ldl1] |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | May 27, 2022 | Addition [ale1] |
