Case description
At about 16:30 on 30 September 1954, quarry foreman Georges Gatay, also printed Gatey, reportedly noticed a circular object at Marcilly-sur-Vienne. Contemporary newspaper coverage described him with six coworkers, although counts vary in later versions. He said the roughly 4.5-metre-wide craft hovered about a metre above the ground, with a dome and rapidly turning helicopter-like blades.
Beside it stood a small humanlike figure in a neutral-coloured one-piece suit, boots and an opaque, frosted-glass-like helmet. It carried a pipe- or revolver-like object and had a brilliant disc on its chest. Gatay attributed his inability to move to its light. He claimed the figure re-entered by an unseen route and the craft rose in jerks, made jet-like noise and disappeared behind emitted mist. A truck driver’s more limited observation was of something grey rising; not every reported witness independently described every detail.
The case became disputed. Later writers reported prank explanations and an alleged admission by Gatay, while Jean Sider challenged claims that a confirming Paris Match article existed. These disagreements prevent presenting the story as a verified landing. The plate follows the contemporary costume and hovering-craft account, labels it disputed, and supplies no visible alien face beneath the helmet.
