The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
October 9, 1954, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes:
Reference for this case: 9-Oct-54-Nice-2.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The national newspaper Le Figaro for October 11, 1954, reported that Mr. Vallicale, an inspector with the mobile brigade, saw on October 9, 1954, at 11:15 p.m., in the sky over Nice a "luminous craft heading south at high speed."
In their 1979 book on "close encounters" in France, ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon indicated that in Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department, on October 9, 1954, at 11:15 p.m., Mr. Valicale, an inspector from the Nice mobile brigade observed a luminous craft heading south at high speed.
The authors indicated as source the newspaper La Montagne in October 1954, and their personal archives.
[Ref. fio1:] NEWSPAPER "LE FIGARO":
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Reports of flying craft that have been appearing across France for the past month seem to be increasing in number.
It was a true squadron of saucers that flew over the Côte d'Azur.
On Friday, a hotel employee, Mr. Albert Grassi, 28, standing on the terrace of a hotel in La Colmane [sic], was drawn to an unusual sound. He then saw an orange disk making intricate patterns, ascending at a dizzying speed before veering toward Boreon.
Mr. Grassi called Mr. and Mrs. Chagnot, owners of the hotel, who arrived in time to see the mysterious phenomenon as it hovered over the La Balona and Fréna mountains.
On Saturday, Mr. Soulié, an employee at Electricité de France, saw at 8:15 p.m., above Boulevard Victor-Hugo in Nice, a disk that, he said, resembled the full moon and left a luminous trail behind it.
That same day, around 11 p.m., Mr. Béranger, commissioner of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, a general councilor, witnessed a similar phenomenon that left a red and green trail in the sky.
Mr. Vallicale, inspector of the mobile brigade, also saw at 11:15 p.m., in the sky over Nice, a luminous craft heading south at full speed.
Several residents of Calais saw yesterday, around 9:15 a.m., a bright craft moving in the sky.
Additionally, a motorist from Calais saw last night, above the road to Boulogne-sur-Mer, an unidentified craft that he believes was a flying saucer.
"It was 9:15 p.m.," the motorist recounted, "when, to my left, I noticed a glow coming from the fields, like that produced by a bicycle dynamo. Suddenly, the glow shot toward the road, in my direction, and a very large craft appeared. It was bluish, like the tinted blue windows used during the war. I braked sharply and turned off my headlights. The craft passed over the road. It was clearly a blue disk, with a dome above it that stood out distinctly. The craft moved silently. It flew over the road, turned, and sped toward Calais. I saw it disappear, and at that moment the original bluish glow was replaced by a white light, as it had appeared initially."
A laborer from Lavoux (Vienne), Mr. Roger Barrault, was riding his bicycle on Saturday around 7 p.m. when he was stopped by a double beam of light emanating from a strange being, a sort of "diver" about 1.5 meters tall, wearing heel-less boots, with very bright eyes and a prominent mustache. The diver walked along the road for a minute before disappearing into the nearby forest.
Near Uzerches (Corrèze), two young men, Messrs. Charles and Alphonse Beaujou, driving on the Eyburie road, saw around 11 p.m. a huge shining sphere. For fifteen minutes, the object moved across the sky, changing colors, before disappearing.
On Saturday afternoon, around 4 p.m., Mr. Jean Bertrand, a mechanic in Carcassonne, saw a metallic spherical craft flying at low altitude. The upper part of the sphere, made of transparent material, allowed him to distinguish two human-like forms inside.
Namur, October 10. -- A flying cigar was seen by the rural postman in a village near Huy, between Namur and Liège. The postman stated that the craft rose into the sky as he approached but that he was still able to clearly make out human-like silhouettes on board.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors and ufologists indicate that in Nice in the department of the Alpes-Maritimes, on October 9, 1954 at 11:15 p.m., Mr. Valicale, a police inspector of the Nice mobile squad, observed a luminous machine moving towards the south at high speed.
The authors indicate that the sources are "La Montagne" in October 1954 and their personal file.
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1954, on October 9 in France in St Chamas and Nice, "at 20:15 one observes in St Chamas a disc letting out a very thick smoke of fire color, which disappears suddenly by taking altitude above Nice. At 23:15 Mr. Valicale observes in Nice a luminous craft moving at high speed towards the south. Mr. Soulié observes a disc resembling the full moon and leaving a luminous trail."
The source is indicated as "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 140".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the "Alpes Maritime" in Nice on October 9, 1954 at 23:15 hours, "a witness, police inspector, observes a luminous craft moving towards the south at high speed."
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
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Insufficient information, possible meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, night, Valicale, police, craft, luminous, fast
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 12, 2005 | First published, [fru1], [goe1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 8, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 14, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 24, 2026 | Addition [fio1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [fio1]. |
