The article below was published in the daily newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, Tarn issue, France, on July 17, 2003.
The association Planète Ovni, created in September 2002 by Didier Gomez, held its quarterly meeting just before summer. Around ten members gathered for an entire day, following a program that combined information, discussion, and the screening of video documents.
This was an opportunity for Didier Gomez, president of the association, to review the contents of issue 36 of his magazine UFOmania, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary. This issue includes a special report titled "Journey to the Center of the Mind," which explores measurable effects on the cerebral cortex during close encounters.
The association is also closely examining phenomena classified under the name "crop circles," literally meaning "wheat circles." These are often circular traces found in fields, associated with eyewitness accounts of supernatural occurrences, such as the case recorded under number 4 in the catalog established by Didier Gomez.
On October 9, 1954, in Puybegon near Briatexte, at 8:20 PM, three witnesses reported seeing "a red saucer" and two beings for 30 seconds. Scorched grass marks were later found nearby.
Between October 1952 and November 2002, Didier Gomez recorded 78 cases of unusual sightings in the Tarn, with some events witnessed by up to a hundred people.
On October 27, 1952, in Gaillac, around 4:00 PM, a hundred people reported seeing "16 flying saucers, appearing in pairs, and a large cigar-shaped object releasing white filaments" for 15 minutes.
"In some cases, there is a rational explanation, such as lightning or fireworks. But overall, 54% of cases remain problematic," explains Didier Gomez.
For this postman from Graulhet, who has been passionate about unexplained UFO phenomena since 1993, there is no question of diving into irrational theories or fantasies about "little green men."
"I do not support the extraterrestrial explanation. CNES (French Space Agency) officially says UFOs do not exist, yet they have a department dedicated solely to them," questions Didier Gomez.
The association's main goal is to increase awareness so that people who witness extraordinary phenomena come forward to share their experiences. The group of enthusiasts then conducts further research on these cases.
That's exactly what Didier Gomez did when he compiled a 60-page report on the September 4, 1989 case in Bertre, near Puylaurens.
On that night, at 4:00 AM, Mr. Aujoulet, who was sleeping in his house, woke up to get a drink of water and saw a large circle of light in his field. He stepped outside and noticed a very bright object sitting on his roof. The next day, gendarmes confirmed a circular mark in the field and damaged roof tiles. CNES later collected some tiles for analysis.
However, to this day, members of the association have been unable to obtain either the police report or the results of the CNES analysis.
To learn more about UFO sightings in the Tarn, readers will have to wait until early 2004 for the release of Didier Gomez's book, "Unusual Apparitions in Occitania." Featuring both text and photos, the author compiles and recounts sightings that occurred in the Tarn throughout the 20th century (published by Vent-Terral in Valence).
Martine LECAUDEY
