ALSACAT-2018-05-24-FESSENHEIM-1
On May 26, 2018, through their website, the regional newspaper L'Alsace reported that an "aircraft" was sighted above the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, and that the former journalist and UFO buff Jean-Claude Bourret says it was UFOs.
The two regional newspapers L'Alsace and Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA) - from the same press group, sharing their articles - said they had been contacted by Jean-Claude Bourret who reported that "strange phenomena were observed last Thursday", May 24, 2018, at 10:40 p.m., above the nuclear power plant.
The journalist of DNA and L'Alsace says he heard from Mr. Bourret, that, in fact, he had a single "source", presented as a "hidden official source", like a policeman, who had contacted Mr. Bourret via his Facebook page.
Jean-Claude Bourret assured that he is "a direct witness of the observation, someone totally credible." Mr. Bourret had already alerted the ufology association MUFON, who also contacted the newspaper newsroom on the morning of May 26th, 2018.
The witness, according to Jean-Claude Bourret, saw "something extraordinary" and even filmed it, obtaining a video "lasting 7 to 8 minutes." The witness said that on a monitoring mission at the plant, together with two other observers, he saw "lights above the power plant, one in the form of a triangle that hovered 50 meters above the power plant. It had three white lights and a red light, and it made no noise."
According to Jean-Claude Bourret, there would have been then another "triangle", an "other object" with "very white portholes, brilliant bright" and suddenly "15 objects" first "stationary" then "describing right angles", then an "elongated shape", visible over the Black Forest mountains, and then "a big sphere".
The only witness of Jean-Claude Bourret reportedly said that "seven people in total had seen these strange phenomena, including three gendarmes and four security agents." But when the newspaper contacts the operational center of the gendarmerie of Colmar on this matter, they were informed that they were "not aware of anything."
As in L'Alsace, one wondered if someone wanted to "tell a tall tale" to Jean-Claude Bourret, one took care to also contact the nuclear plant. On May 27, 2018, DNA indicated that the management of the plant "confirmed the overflight", seen by several gendarmes of the PSPG (Protection Specialist Squad of the Gendarmerie) who "have seen the craft while it was operating in the air space of the plant." But the management of the plant ensures that there is "no information" as to the exact nature of that aircraft.
The newspaper then reports that anti-Fessenheim activist André Hatz shared on Twitter an internal document, signed Matthieu Winkelmuller, of the technical direction of the Fessenheim plant,; which tells of "illegal presence of an aircraft" on Thursday May 24, 2018, shortly before 11 p.m., seen "by gendarmes of the Protection Specialists of the Protection of the Gendarmerie (PSPG) on the perimeter of the plant". Mr. Winkelmuller states that "the public authorities have been warned and the surveillance of the site strengthened", even if "this overflight has had no impact on the safety and operation of the facilities". The management of the plant decided to file a complaint with the gendarmerie.
This of course appeared on the Web, reported more or less completely by "UFO" websites between May 26 and May 28, 2018; often as if the case was a fact of nuclear power station overflight by one or more UFOs. In L'Alsace and DNA newspapers for May 28, 2018, I did not find anything on the matter. In the evening of May 28, 2018, I have nothing more, in particular, I did not find the alleged video.
In 2020, a video interview with Jean-Claude Bourret appeared on Youtube on the Web-TV "GaoronTV"; hardly any details are learned. Jean-Claude Bourret speaks of several UFOs, with a flyover duration of 2 hours, assures that he knows more but cannot say anything, that there was an official military investigation committee but that everything is classified secret-defense.
In 2021, a ufologist from the Lorraine region publishing under the pseudonym of "Polyèdre" indicated on his blog, that the overflights of French nuclear power plants of this period were, according to an informant whom he says serious and reliable but of which he cannot reveal identity, discreet operations of a military service whose aim was to "test during a defined period, the responsiveness of all the actors of the sector on the whole of the French nuclear plants in a vast operation aimed at testing the alert and security systems in order to protect us from real accidents and other terrorist sabotage."
| Date: | May 24, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:40 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | May 26, 2018 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 2 days. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Fessenheim |
| Place: | In or near the nuclear plant, UFO in the sky. |
| Latitude: | 47.904 |
| Longitude: | 7.561 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 2 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults. |
| Witness(es) types: | Gendarmes, nuclear plant survey team. |
| Reporting channel: | To ufologist Jean-Claude Bourret via Facebook, and from plant management. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | In or near a nuclear plant, UFO in the sky. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | Alleged video. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Totally insufficient information. |
[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":
The 05/26/2018 01:40 p. m. by D. T., updated Yesterday at 07:17 Seen 14356 times
As he says himself, he has a "little UFO label"... And it's true that at the age of 77, the name of Jean-Claude Bourret, multi-host of television news, remains associated with the quest for Unidentified flying objects. Jean-Claude Bourret has just joined our editorial staff to report that strange phenomena have been observed last Thursday, at 10:40 p.m., above the nuclear power plant at Fessenheim. The former journalist had already alerted the MUFON association (Mutual UFO network) who also contacted our editorial team this morning.
Concretely, the "source" of Jean-Claude Bourret is unique. This is, he says, a "hidden official source" who contacted him via his Facebook page. "It's a direct witness of the observation, someone quite credible," he says. Note that the operational center of the gendarmerie of Colmar, joined by us, is obviously aware of nothing.
In these matters, hoaxes are legion... The Terrans that we are have not yet had proven contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations, it must be remembered. As often, the case is based on indirect testimony. Still, the individual quoted by Jean-Claude Bourret would have seen "something extraordinary" and even filmed it. A video document "lasting 7 to 8 minutes," adds Mr. Bourret. "My witness told me that he was on a surveillance mission for the Fessenheim plant," Bourret insisted, "they were three observers, they saw lights above the power plant, one in the form of a triangle that hovered 50 meters above the power station, it had three white lights and a red light, and it made no noise. "
The "testimony" collected by Mr. Bourret continues with a cocktail of folkore images of ufological observation ... An "other triangle", an "other object" with "portholes very white, vibrant bright"... And then, suddenly, there were "15 objects" first "stationary" then "describing paths at right angles". Then appears an "elongated shape", visible above the Black Forest, and then "a big sphere".
A real festival of UFO appearances, above a very surveyed nuclear power station... The only witness of Jean-Claude Bourret indicates that seven people in total were able to observe these strange phenomena, including three gendarmes and four security officers...
So, did anyone want to tell Jean-Claude Bourret some great stories, even if it's a bit too much? Ufologists in France in any case place a call for witnesses to learn more.
An overflight by an aircraft?
More seriously, an anti-Fessenheim activist, André Hatz, relayed on Twitter the information of an overflight of the central on Thursday, May 24, indeed, towards 11 p.m.. An overflight by "an aircraft", he assures, stressing the "risk" that it causes to the power plant, and that adds "to that of rupture of the steam generator nr 335 and the fortuitous stoppage reactor 2 for electronic board problem". Mr. Hatz has obtained an internal document, signed by Matthieu Winkelmuller, of the technical direction of the plant, which indicates indeed the "illegal presence of an aircraft", Thursday, May 24 shortly before 11 p.m., "by gendarmes special platoon of protection of the gendarmerie (PSPG) on the air perimeter of the plant". Mr Winkelmuller states that "the public authorities have been warned and the monitoring of the site reinforced", even if "this overflight has had no impact on the safety and functioning of the facilities". The management of the plant decided to file a complaint with the gendarmerie.
[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPER "LES DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":
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A so-far unidentified aircraft overflew the nuclear plant of Fessenheim in the night from Thursday to Friday. The safety of the site is said to be unaffected.
The management of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant filed a complaint Friday with the gendarmerie, following the overflight of its facilities by an aircraft in the night from Thursday to Friday. The incident, which did not affect the operation of the site, occurred around 11 p.m.
Several gendarmes of the PSPG (specialized squad of the protection of the gendarmerie) saw the apparatus while it moved in the aerial perimeter of the power station. Contacted by us, the management confirmed the overflight, indicating, however, to have "no information" as to the exact nature of the aircraft.
An anti-Fessenheim activist, André Hatz, relayed the news on Twitter, underlining the "risk" that this causes to the plant, "and that adds to that of the break of the steam generator # 335 and to the accidental shutdown of reactor 2 for computer board problem," he explains. André Hatz also produced an internal document, signed by a member of the technical direction of the plant; which reports the "illegal" presence of the aircraft and observation by military personal of the PSPG. The document also states that "the public authorities have been warned and the monitoring of the site strengthened, even if the overflight had no impact on the safety and operation of the facilities".
The Mutuel [sic] UFO Network and the former journalist Jean-Claude Bourret were closely interested yesterday in this aircraft seen above the nuclear power plant-
As he himself says, he has a "little UFO tag"... And it's true that at the age of 77, the name of Jean-Claude Bourret, multi-host of newscasts, remains associated with the quest for unidentified flying objects. Jean-Claude Bourret yesterday called the DNA to report that strange phenomena were observed last Thursday at 11:40 p.m., above the nuclear plant of Fessenheim. The former journalist had already alerted the association MUFON (Mutual UFO network) who also contacted our editorial staff. Jean-Claude Bourret put forward a "hidden official source" who contacted him via his Facebook page. The former head host of channel 5 TV news finally let loose that this source was "a policeman": "It is a direct witness of the observation, someone of quite credible".
This person would have seen "something extraordinary" and even filmed it. A video document "lasting 7 to 8 minutes," adds Mr. Bourret.
"My witness told me that he was on a surveillance mission for the Fessenheim power station, they were three observers, they saw lights above the power plant, one of them in the form of a triangle 50 meters above the plant, it had three white lights and a red light, and it made no noise."
The "testimony" collected by Mr. Bourret continues with a cocktail of folklore images of ufological observation ... An "other triangle", an "other object" with "portholes very white, vibrant bright"... And then, suddenly, there are "15 objects" first "stationary" then "describing paths at right angles". Then appears an "elongated shape", visible above the Black Forest, and then "a big sphere".
The only witness to Jean-Claude Bourret indicates that seven people in total were able to observe these strange phenomena, including three gendarmes and four security agents...
[Ref. nua1:] "NUREA TV" WEBSITE:
I think it is important to relay here information that was sent to us by a reliable informant, but we committed ourselves to silence the identity, about a particularly incredible UFO sighting.
We are Thursday, May 24, 2018 on the side of the nuclear power plant of Fessenheim in Alsace. For almost 2 hours, from 10:40 to midnight past, civilians and military personnel (7 or 8 people in all) were the spectators of what is called a real squadron of UFOs. Indeed, they would have witnessed an overflight of the plant by no less than fifteen aircraft of various sizes, shapes and colors. Some of these UFOs were triangular in shape and black in color, or round orange when others had a diamond structure.
Two of these devices were observed very closely (at a distance of about 50 meters) during their flight over very low altitude reactor building of the plant. Their speed of travel has been described as being very slow and, as often in such a description, our witness reports a totally silent movement.
The size of the largest UFO that made up this "armada", triangular shape and observed at a distance of a hundred meters, was evaluated by witnesses at about 20 meters in length.
There is no doubt that several witnesses of this observation (including the gendarmerie personnel present) were auditioned by the military services and that the latter have video traces of this phenomenon (via the security cameras on the site). We can also say with a certainty that all this will not be communicated to the general public, this episode having to do with the security of a sensitive site. Moreover, if this information were to be included in the mainstream media, we would certainly be entitled to the version commonly advanced in such a situation: "simple drones flew over a nuclear site"
Remains to be asked the angrying questions and to pinpoint the characteristics of a phenomenon about which the majority of the population and officially the services of the State (I officially say that I am persuaded in a personal capacity that internally it is quite different) stubbornly deny existence.
Which aircraft of the drone type today has the characteristics stated in this observation: size (20 meters for one of them), silent movement and hovering ability?
Why is this type of observation widespread around sensitive nuclear sites for many years (some quick research on the net will allow you to realize how many UFO sightings, for several decades and all over the planet), are performed around nuclear sites, whether civilian or military)?
To go a little further in this questioning, why does this phenomenon target today the Fessenheim plant, civil nuclear site particularly contested because of its age, the obsolescence and therefore the dangerousness of its infrastructure?
So many facts and questions that, once again, will not be or will not be dealt with in the national media and, if they are not treated through the prism of disdain and mockery, will be passed over in silence.
Whether this phenomenon finds a rational explanation or not, it highlights security issues that cannot be swept away by a simple hand and raises questions that we cannot ignore and on which it is essential in my opinion to look:
Who (or what) is hiding behind this phenomenon? Through which technology is it expressed? And finally, should we interpret this phenomenon as the expression of a message about our irrational use of a technology that we do not master and that puts humanity at risk?
The debate is not only open but it deserves and must arouse everyone's interest. If the major media that occupy and monopolize space for expression and reflection do not seize this theme, it belongs to us modestly, ordinary citizens curious and responsible for the emergence in the public debate.
I attach to this article a document emanating from Matthieu Wikkelmuller, Deputy Technical Director at EDF-CNE Fessenheim:
SUBJECT: Information - Aircraft overflight
Madam, Sir,
In application of the information agreement between the Prefecture of Haut-Rhin and the Nuclear Power Production Center of Fessenheim, we inform you that an illegal presence of aircraft has been detected by the gendarmes of the PSPG (Specialist Platoon of Protection of the Gendarmerie) on the air space of the power plant, Thursday, May 24 shortly before 23:00.
The public authorities have been warned and the supervision of the site has been strengthened.
This overflight had no impact on the safety and operation of the facilities.
The Directorate of the site will file a complaint this day at the gendarmerie.
Please accept, Madam, Sir, the expression of our best regards.
Mathieu WINKELMULLER
Survey management PCD1
/s/
Guillaume Hzt
[Ref. muf1:] "MUFON FRANCE":
Mufon France NEWS, CALL FOR WITNESSES May 25, 2018
We do not have much information yet, but our source is first rate,
Abnormal aerial phenomenon that took place on Thursday 05/24/2018 at 10:30 p.m. Thank you in advance for any feedback.
Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the flyover site, we invite you, especially if you live in the Fessenheim area, to share the information.
Update 26/05/2018 at 13:40 / Gendarmerie Fessenheim, contacted, confirmation of a report following the movement of gendarmes, but which would have nothing to do with an observation on site. They would have noted lights but on the German side. We are waiting for the return of a communications officer from the gendarmerie Colmar to learn more.
Note the articles on the release of smoke this night, so more than 24 hours after our call for witnesses, we cannot reasonably connect the two events.
L'Alsace article :
https://www.lalsace.fr/actualite/2018/05/26/degagement-de-fumee-nocturne-a-la-centrale
Update 05/26/2018 at 02:26 p.m. / The info is out on L'Alsace and DNA, article by Denis Tricart (with whom I vaguely argued this morning on the phone ...):
https://www.dna.fr/actualite/2018/05/26/des-ovnis-au-dessus-de-la-centrale-nucleaire-jean-claude-bourret-s-en-mele
https://www.lalsace.fr/actualite/2018/05/26/survol-de-la-centrale-nucleaire-jeudi-dernier-jean-claude-bourret-evoque-des-ovnis
Update 05/26/2018 at 23:09 / Both articles have passed the 16000 views.
Investigator in charge of the investigation: Thierry Tregnago
Pascal Fechner
National Director MUFON France
www.mufonfrance.com
[Ref. jcb1:] JEAN-CLAUDE BOURRET:
[...other topics up to minute 3:28...]
Interviewer: So, in May 2018, you intervened with our regional dailies, here, L'Alsace newspaper and Les Derniers Nouvelles d'Alsace about a UFO overflight above the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. Could you please tell us about this case?
Jean-Claude Bourret: Yes, I was alerted by a totally credible witness to the overflight of the nuclear power plant, not by a UFO but by several, and it lasted a very long, it lasted more than two hours, so I phoned a colleague, but I inculcated from their local newspaper who was so happy to talk to Jean-Claude Bourret that he immediately wrote a little paper on the website by saying Jean-Claude Bourret who sees UFOs everywhere said that it is... that the nuclear power station had been flown over, but, what is extraordinary is that 1) the journalist has absolutely didn't do his job, he didn't check anything, he missed something that could have opened his mind to a file that will inexorably fall on all of our faces one day or another and then there was a tremendous confirmation, it is that the director of the plant issued an official press release to say the plant was overflown yesterday by an unknown aircraft, you don't say, an unknown plane flying over the plant we don't know where it's coming from it's evening it's 9:30 p.m. with all the military radars in place and we don't know where it took off or it will land and it did not at all disturb the colleague who is content to talk about the theft of boules or accidents at the crossroads.
Interviewer: We are now one year after this case, do you have any new information regarding this case?
Jean-Claude Bourret: Yes, I got some new information but I can't tell you about it, I'm sorry. They only confirm the fact that this plant, like many other plants, has been overflown by unidentified flying objects for at least three years.
Interviewer: Okay. So still on this case, according to you, the gendarmes specialized in the protection of the site are the direct witnesses of this overflight, do you think that the services of the French state are seriously investigating the case?
Jean-Claude Bourret: What I know is that there was an investigation committee that the army is involved but as usual uh, no fuss, so as long as the UFOs did not abduct in front of the eyes of witnesses half a dozen engineers from the power station where they did not have to cut the, the chimneys of the power station with laser beams, and well one hushed that a little, no fuss because we have no answers to the questions that are posed by these incredible testimonies.
Interviewer: And your feeling, given the nature of the witnesses, that is to say the gendarmes and the sensitivity of the site, do you think that we have here a case that is classified secret-defense?
Jean-Claude Bourret: Obviously in all cases involving the military and especially high-ranking soldiers in particularly specific circumstances such as a nuclear plant which is a hyper protected place as you can imagine and well all this is classified secret-defense.
[...other topics...]
[Ref. pop1:] BLOG "PHENOMENES OVNI/PAN EN REGION LORRAINE":
Quickly... It is my duty to announce what will be difficult for some to hear. This is the track that I favored for a while after having collected a maximum of information around me. I put forward the idea that we knew how to implement strategies to direct and configure one or more civil or military high-tech drones (UAV) simultaneously and remotely coordinated throughout France. I just got confirmation, don't ask me where this information comes from, the source is safe and very knowledgeable.
I knew oh how upset I was going to be when I mentioned it on the "Les Mystères des OVNIS" web board. I was banned for various reasons. The fact of having provided information that has not been taken into account obviously does not make you a trustworthy person. The desire to see UFOs everywhere remains the strongest. That said, it's ancient history, let's not talk about it anymore, I wouldn't set foot there again. I consider justice done.
So what was it? In military jargon, this is called a "PsyOps" (psychological operation). We hear a lot about it currently in the United States in the process of lifting the secrecy to discredit the presence of real objects outside our world (a report should be delivered on June 25, 2021). The aim was to test during a defined period, the responsiveness of all the players in the sector throughout the French nuclear plants in a vast operation aimed at testing the alert and safety systems in order to protect us from real accidents and other terrorist sabotages.
I have no idea of the name of the company or companies that used the drones in question. There are several that can do the job, such as Air Marine, Microdrones France, Airborne Concept, Pragma Industrie, Delair-Tech, etc. .. It can also very well be a dedicated service of the army. In any case, logic dictates that a principal (here probably the DGAC) delivers all the necessary authorizations beforehand to take action in due time with rigorous monitoring of the airspace.
If we had a "Freedom of Information Act" in France, we could hold the DGAC to account. Maybe one day it will come back on the table, in which case there will be no more excuses to doubt it.
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Obviously there is not enough reliable information to understand what happened exactly.
From the newspapers enquiries at the nuclear plant, it appears to be established that "something" was spotted from, at, or over the Fessenheim nuclear plant. But the incredible procession of "UFOs" Jean-Claude Bourret apparently heard about through a Facebook person has, so far, no reliable confirmation.
Chinese lanterns could be the case of all this, if one agrees that the descriptions voiced by Jean-Claude Bourret to the newspaperman may not be reliable information. It could be exaggerated, misunderstood, etc. For example, every ufologist should know that "triangle" sometimes refers only to the fact that three lights were seen, obviously forming a "triangle", whether attached to an object or not.
The release of the alleged video could suffice to make one's opinion. So, where is it?
Doing some search on the web about the alleged incident, I still can not find the video that Jean-Claude Bourret said he has.
I note the call to witness by the MUFON France [muf1], apparently without result.
The MUFON reports the incident of the "smoke" of May 26, 2018; this is reported like this on the website of L'Alsace on June 27, 2018:
At about 3:20 a.m. on Saturday morning, a smoke release in the engine room, the non-nuclear part of the Fessenheim power station, set off an alarm and prompted the immediate intervention of the internal emergency services, and then, in accordance with the safety procedures, the arrival of firefighters.
They only noted the stop of the release of smoke and "the absence of hot spot," says EDF [the powe co.]. The smoke came from an electrical panel in production unit #1. The teams of the plant are working this morning to accurately identify the origin of these fumes, before repair.
(Unlike MUFON, I do not see an obvious connection to the alleged observation.)
At this date, the AFP French news agency informs that a "Superman-shaped drone piloted by Greenpeace militants flew over a nuclear power plant near Lyon on the morning of July 3" - it was on the Bugey plant.
Greenpeace reportedly claimed that this would be a "highly symbolic" action aimed at "demonstrating the vulnerability of spent fuel storage pools". There are photos and video support, and partial confirmation by EDF, the French national power company.
So, for the first time, Greenpeace, who had so far denied any involvement in these cases of drone power plant over-flights, claims such action.
"Polyèdre" is the pseudonym of a Lorraine ufologist who could often be read in the analyzes of sightings which were reported on the ufological web board "Les Mystères des OVNIS", where he seriously and without dogmatism endeavored to find possible prosaic explanations for reported sightings.
I obviously have no grounds for asserting that what his informant told him is true or false, but I had to report it.
Totally insufficient information.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 28, 2018 | Creation, [lae1], [dna1], [nua1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 28, 2018 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 8, 2018 | Addition [muf1].In the Discussion, addition of the paragraphs for "June 8, 2018". |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 4, 2018 | In the Discussion, addition of the "July 4, 2018" section. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 11, 2023 | Addition [jcb1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "In 2020, a video interview..." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 19, 2023 | Addition [pop1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "In 2021, a ufologist of the Lorraine region..." In the Explanations, addition of the part "'Polyèdre' in 2021". |
