The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 9-Oct-54-Alès.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Provençal for October 11, 1954, reported via their press correspondent in Alès that the day before at 11:45 a.m., several people passing on the Vieux Pont (Old Bridge) in Alès had seen a flying saucer which after seeming to remain motionless, turned on itself, and suddenly disappeared on the horizon as it gained altitude.
One of the witnesses was Mr. Taurelle, waiter at the Riche Hotel.
In 1966, ufologist Jacques Vallée indicates that this took place on October 9, 1954, at 11:45, in Ales in the Gard; several witnesses, including Mr. Taurelle, working at the Riche-Hotel, had reported seeing a motionless "saucer", spinning on itself and disappearing quickly "while accelerating".
[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":
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Continued from the first page
The initial bluish gleam gave place to a white headlight such as it had appeared to me at the beginning.
Alès (C.P.).
Yesterday at 11. 45, several people passing on the Pont Vieux [Old Bridge] in Alès saw a flying saucer which after having seemed to remain motionless, whirled on itself, and disappeared suddenly at the horizon while taking altitude.
Among the witnesses for the [illegible] let us quote the name of Mr. Taurelle, room boy at the Riche Hôtel.
Alexandria (A.C.P.).
Official sources state that a mysterious craft remained in the airs above the control tower of the airfield of Muzha during one hour, Saturday evening.
The craft having the shape of a lengthened "saucer", changed color, going from red to orange, then green to gray, before moving away at a fantastic speed.
[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES AND JANNINE VALLEE:
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An observation made at Ales (Gard) on October 9, 1954, at 11:45 am, is to be classified in type III. Several witnesses, including Mr. Taurelle, working at the Riche-Hôtel, reported seeing a motionless "saucer", spinning on itself and then disappearing quickly while accelerating.
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques Vallée notes that in Alès in the department of the Gard, on October 9, 1954 at 11:45, several witnesses among whose Mr. Taurelle who worked at the Riche-Hotel, observed a motionless saucer whirling on itself; which disappeared quickly while accelerating.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 10/9/54 | () | Alès (Gard) | x | 100X2C 10m |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
October 9th. Ales, France. (11:45 a.m.)
An employee of the Riche Hotel in Ales, France, looked up at the sky 11:45 the morning of the 9th in time to see a saucer hovering overhead, spinning on its axis. The disc-shaped object then sped away, all the while accelerating rapidly. 84.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4026: 1954/10/09 11:50 5 4:06:00 E 44:07:00 N 3332 WEU FRN GRD 7:9
ALES,GARD,FR:SVRL OBS:SCR HOVERS+SPINS IN SKY:SPEEDS AWAY:RAPID ACCELERATION
Ref# 3 VALLEE:UFO ENIGMA: Challenge/Science Page No. 67 : TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1954, on October 9, in France in Alès in the Gard, "At 11:45, several witnesses including Mr. Taurelle, working at the Riche-Hôtel, say they saw a motionless saucer, whirling on itself, then disappearing fast while accelerating."
The source is indicated as "Jacques VALLEE - Jeanine VALLEE : 'Les phénomènes insolites de l'espace', hardcover LAFFONT 1978, p. 77".
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
1954
[...]
October 9
11:45: In Alès (Gard), several witnesses, among those Mr. Taurelle (working in Riche-Hotel) see a motionless saucer, whirling on itself, then disappearing quickly while accelerating.
The source is indicated as "Vallée J. 1966".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Gard in Alès on October 9, 1954, at an unknown hour "Several witnesses, see a motionless saucer, whirling on itself, then disappearing quickly while accelerating."
The source is indicated to be my website at http://ufologie.net [The old URL of my website's home page.].
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 9 October 1954 at 11:45 in Ales, France, a hovering object was observed. One disc was observed by several witnesses in a town.
The sources are indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the 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 | Ales | France | |||||||
| 19541009 | 09.10.1954 | Ales | France |
|
The newspaper Le Provençal for October 11 1954, indicated "yesterday" as the date, thus October 10, 1954; but Vallée indicates the 9th. Chances are good that the date of the 10th is correct, but it is not totally certain since the publication delay of newspapers, sometimes, resultetd in a "yesterday" to actually be the day before yesterday. Waiting for a possible sure date, I keep the date given by Vallée for now.
The report is very poor, impossible for me to clearly define what was seen. Maybe an extraterrestrial craft, maybe a helicopter, for example...
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Alès, Gard, Taurelle, saucer, rotation, fast, multiple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 8, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 19, 2016 | Additions [lgs1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 5, 2019 | Additions [jve8], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, was "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | April 4, 2022 | Addition [gep1]. |
