The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Sep-54-Palau-del-Vidre.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
On July 23, 2020, I received a non-anonymous email, a testimony of a UFO sighting from September 1954 in Palau-del-Vidre, in the Pyrénées-Orientales.
The witness stated that at 5:00 p.m., in very fine weather, clear blue sky without a single cloud, at the Château de Villeclare, property of Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola, the equestrian champion, he was doing the grape harvest with his parents, his sister [x], and at least fifty other people.
At the end of the workday, as they were leaving the vineyard, suddenly, in the sky above their heads, they saw, at about 300 meters altitude, a motionless UFO that seemed to be observing them.
It had the shape of two concave plates turned upside down, one on top of the other.
They began shouting in the middle of the vineyard to ask for a camera, and gesticulating.
The craft then began to move, it rotated on itself and "slid" through the sky at great speed toward the Pyrenees, visible on the horizon, where the witnesses saw it disappear - all this without any sound of an engine or otherwise.
My correspondent believes that the local press at the time must have reported the event, but he has not yet verified this.
[Ref. pgs1:] EMAIL TO ME:
Title: UFO seen in September 1954 at Palau-del-Vidre (66)
Sent on: July 23, 2022
From: J[] A[] ([]@outlook.fr)
TESTIMONY
I saw an Unidentified Flying Object (U.F.O.)
It was in September 1954. It was 5:00 p.m. The weather was very fine. The sky was light blue and without a single cloud.
It was in Palau-del-Vidre (66900) - (near Perpignan) - on the property of Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola, the equestrian champion, the Château de Villeclare. We were harvesting grapes, my parents, my sister Yolande, and I (Jacqueline was 6 years old). So it was 5:00 p.m. that day, and with the day's work finished, we were leaving the vineyard.
All of a sudden, in the sky above our heads, we saw, at about three hundred meters in altitude, a U.F.O. hovering, “seeming to be observing us.” It was shaped like two hollow plates placed upside down one on top of the other.
We began shouting in the middle of the vineyard asking for a camera! and waving our arms. (There were at least fifty of us). The craft in question then started moving, “spinning” on itself and “sliding” across the sky at great speed toward the Pyrenees visible on the horizon, where we saw it disappear. All of this happened without any engine noise or anything else.
The local press at the time must have reported the incident. I did not check.
J[] A[]
|
The Château (castle) de Villeclare is located 600 meters from an exit to the southwest of Palau-del-Vidre, and in 2025, it is still surrounded by vineyards.
The account reminds me of the case of September 27, 1954 at Mas Bruzy, but Mas Bruzy is 15 kilometers north of Palau-del-Vidre. The proximity is still interesting. On the same September 27, 1954, there was also the sighting near Perpignan, by 7 workers, but at 3:10 p.m.; they stated that the craft had left toward Spain.
For the moment, I have not found any press source relating to this observation - but I have not yet been able to access all the newspapers from September 1954.
I obviously have no ordinary explanation to propose for this testimony.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Palau-del-Vidre, Pyrénées-Orientales, Château de Villeclare, email, grape harvest, multiple, saucer, day, plate, motionless, departure
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 12, 2025 | First published, [pgs1]. |
