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The 1954 French flap:

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September 23, 1954, Moussoulens, Aude:

Reference for this case: 23-Sep-54-Moussoulens.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Reports:

[Ref. geo1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "GEOS INTERNATIONAL":

WE PUBLISH THIS CASE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ORGANISATION
BORDELAISE DE RECHERCHES ET D'INFORMATIONS SCIENTIFIQUES
ON THE U.F.Os.

LANDING OF A U.F.O. NEAR MOUSSOULENS (AUDE) - September 23, 1954 - AT 3 AM.

Witness:Mister MARCELLIN ROUZEAUD, winegrower living in Moussoulens (Aude) - he was 42 years old in 1954.

Witness statements recorded in Moussoulens on September 4, 1967.

It was on September 23 at 3 a.m. in 1954 I was going to Carcassonne, and on the road, there, on the 629, what would I tell you? 800 meters before arriving on a straight line, I saw something on the road, posed in the middle of the road - near the gardens of Bernado, in the Cammas which we call "le Cammas de PEZENS"; I approached believing it was someone who was blocking the road: some vehicle a truck that had perhaps overturned or whatever: I approached, approached well, and I was still less than ten meters: I stop, and I go down to see what it was. As I approached a human form came out a man, so to speak.

- No door?

No... I didn't see where it came out from... It came out.. It was a shape that was, yes, like a stacker, a stack of sheaves, you see? half an egg, but quite tall: it was all the same six feet tall, see, roughly, it came back to me ever since... It took all the road width. So at that moment, as I approached, this human form there came out, this man, that was - he had only his head out, in a cloak, in a canvas, a tent, coming down almost to the ground, I mean, it didn't have sleeves, it wasn't pants.

- It didn't have a belt?

No, no, no, no belt, it was completely wrapped in this stuff there.

Even the feet?

Ah... the feet, I didn't notice how they were. The man was moving uh, like us; but, I asked this fellow if he wanted a helping hand, what had he done, to get out of there; he didn't answer me and I did a hand gesture to the craft, and with I believe, his hand, sensibly, or his arm which did not emanate, see, from his "thing", he pushed me, he held me back, he stopped me. By beckoning me, he had a talk, well, a talk... It was a sound of voice, but, as to understand it, I did not know if it was Arabic I do not know. I did not understand. I didn't understand. It sounded like a human voice, and to that name, the chap made a sign to me not to touch him; he

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pushed me, you know,... that at least you shouldn't touch that, like saying "watch out, don't touch that... step back!"

- With both hands?

- With one hand, no, no, with one hand, one hand... he made a sign to me: step back, don't touch that - be careful - like you would say "careful!"... Me I said "What is it?"... He left, he went to get, in his craft in this apparatus which was posed there, he went to take a kind of "witness", if you will... I call it like that, for me it has no qualifying word. He put it down on the grass on the side of the road... gesturing to me with his kind of hand that I didn't look at, see, if it was a hand a paw... distinctly I didn't look, see, if he really had fingers or whatever. I was in the presence of something that... You know, that there: he gestured to me at the moon, he beckoned me to the moon, to the shape of the moon, and onto the craft again. From the moon to the craft.

- To the craft that was landed?

- To the device he had just put down on the ground, yes, as if he said "at the next moon, at the same time, we will come back here with that", and that he should not be touched, like to the machine but what he was telling me, I don't know; and apart from that, that chap, when he had made all these gestures, I noticed that another one came down. About the same cut of a man, see; 1.30 m, 1.35 m maybe... I was not calculating the height of the man at the time, I tell you, one is rather surprised than anything else. And at that moment they both left I didn't see where they were going, neither by a door, nor. I expected that they would get their device. They got into it. I heard a noise like the rustling of a tent canvas you know, a flight of partridges going away... but not from its motor, see, it rose vertically, quite quickly, and when it was at a certain height, a distance, I won't tell you, but it was not excessive, it was maybe 200 m., not even. so at that moment, it went straight north, but then... like an arrow you know.

- Was it over?

- I didn't see anything anymore. I wondered to myself if I hadn't dreamed. I got to my car and drove away, I can't even remember if I turned off the engine or not. I don't remember you see.

- Were the car's headlights on...?

- Always the same, yes, yes, lit the craft, but... the color of the craft was much more powerful than the headlights, it stood out much more: the headlights were quite flooded.

- And yet, it did not illuminate the surroundings?

- 6 -

- Ah! Ah! no ... It was a kind of phosphorescence when you light a match the phosphor that begins to burn: a blue like that, a bright blue. It was green.

- But how could you mistake that for a truck?

- Ah, I had this idea, you see. I said, "Is it a truck that fell? It's wrapped in a tent. Was it bales of wool?" I didn't know anything about it. I approached quite naturally as if it had been quite another thing to hold hands with these people.

- Was it a uniform color?

- Uniform, yes, all the same color, I didn't notice whether there was... It didn't strike me to say "yeah, there is a..." No.

... / ...

Yes, and that's all I can tell you ... Now as to this "witness", there is Mr. ALARY, there, the shoe seller from Carcassonne, They came with Mr. RIVES... because I didn't tell it until much later.. oh! 15 days later: I hadn't told anyone. It was while harvesting at my parents' house that I started spilling the bean... to the poor my father who did not believe that there was any of that, and I said "it was just a machine like that, it was only a flying saucer in my opinion, well when we heard about it later too, you understand, because I think there had been more others after that. And he couldn't believe his eyes. I told him, "Yes, you can believe it, because I was in the presence." And I had to tell the story and all that. As for the piece they had left me, Mr. ALARY took it, they claimed that they had had it analyzed, and they claimed that they had not found the material it was made of. I wanted them to give it back to me, and they never gave it back to me. They told me they had sent it to Paris for analysis. Now... I can't tell you anything. There was also Mister RIVES, but he's in Perpignan now; he ran the bar Edouard at the time (in Carcassonne); as I was doing in used car, I had my "office" at his place. I was at his house all the time. And of course, when he knew that, you know what it is, "you're kidding us, you tell us this, you tell us that..." I said: "no if you don't want to believe it, come on, you'll see" because I could not even believe myself my own eyes see, this story worked for me, and it was only by coming to lunch afterwards: I said:" all the same, it is necessary that you stop to see if they really left you something, if it's true, if you had a hallucination or whatever. It happens so fast, you know? It happened so quickly and then unexpected. I wondered myself if I had lived it. And I saw all the same that there was the "witness". From time

- 7 -

to time, I would stop like that to see if it was still there and it still was there I hadn't told anyone.

- And you didn't dare touch it?

- Ah! I never touched it, no. It was as big as a chestnut, a chestnut.

- The same look?

- A piece of ground, but smooth on top, It looked like it was varnished, it was chubby you see? That's all I never understood, nor... it was later, when I really saw that there was the device there, I said: "dammit; it's true, you did not dream, nothing happened to you on the way, you lived it, and these people, they made a sign to you that you should not touch it, that they would come back. According to me, I had calculated that, I said, "he made a sign to the moon that when it would be like that again, they would come back to the place with that. Only the others have arrived. I had the misfortune of starting to tell it a fortnight or 20 days later. They came to see this famous witness. They started taking it away and then it was over. I didn't learn anything anymore...

... / ...

- At the time, I wasn't scared, oh no, it's not a personal scare, I mean, because I had been in the war before, I had seen a lot more than that.

- In the village, nobody but you saw "something"?

- No! So good, that here, I wasn't saying it because of that. I said to myself, "people, they will take you for a joker," there are many who did not want to believe it, there are some others who made me tell it: "It's true Rouzaud?" "- Yes, it's true". Such a thing like that, verbatim as I have just told it to you, I cannot say more nor less, it is thus.

... / ...

- No trace of smoke or smell ... When these two fellows left me, I thought they were going to get their machine, remove it from there to let me pass. You know, it goes straight up in front of me... and then after, go, direction: North.

- What was the weather like?

The weather was fine. The weather was rather cool. We could clearly see the moon ... / ... From what I heard, supposedly that a month later, the day before, the 22nd, near FANJEAUX, they saw a craft like that. It would have matched. Perhaps it was the same machine that would have wanted to try to find this same spot. These are my own reasoning ... / ... (About the abandoned object) - They had killed it, everyone had looked at what it was, they had even tried to scratch with a knife the knife didn't want this material, it was hard. ... / ... - I don't remember if I had stopped the engine or not. This happens just like when you come across an accident that has just happened: you don't notice, you just go and see what happens, you are a little panicked. You say: "what-

- 8 -

is it? There is this, there is that, are three deaths? How did it happen? Who is it?" So, by the time to review all that: finished, end! It comes back to you, little by little, but... There are certain points that do not escape you... others... for example, the shap had hair, he did not have any, I do not know ... He had a head. Now the shape of his face, that, I cannot tell you. His craft would have lit all around, I would have said: "hey, it's weird, he's a phenomenon, he's not like us"... I didn't notice.

The craft was luminous on itself, but did not shed light... all I can tell you is that if there are people who joked about it... well me, I'm not kidding, I was there, my friend: I'm selling it to you at the price I bought it you know... Why, why, fuss about it? I know very well that I lived it well. But the same morning that happened: it was working me out hard, I was wondering if really... I said, "Even so, you came by car, you were in such and such a place, you didn't had syncope, you didn't "screw up" with the car, you wouldn't have arrived here on time. Maybe 5, 10 minutes you lost... just the time to stop, that it happens, that to start again: it's real, you lived it". And I was eager to see the little "witness": ah no! they left it to you, really, there it is. I kept that. It was working me out, that, all alone. I said to myself: look, but these people, they could have taken you, why not? It was something that was within their reach, there were 2 of them, see, they could have tied me up, they put me in the craft, they left, it was over.

- Didn't you think about it at the time?

- No, that's after I was like "but they could take you to their place, why not? That's something that happens!

- When he hit you in the shoulder, how high?

- No, no, it's at the front.

- The stomach?

- Yes, he touched me as if to say "don't approach, it's dangerous, don't approach" The guy, what was he saying in his jargon, I don't know nothing, but hey, he even made me back down, see, yeah. He pushed on me, I felt him, I felt he was touching me, the guy.

- And the other one spoke to you too?

- No, no: the second, I barely saw him when he (the first) wanted to put this tool down, he was waving to me at the moon: Jee, I said to myself, but there is another one. So much so that I looked rather at him, see, more often than at the first one: I was like: "What is he going to do this one?"

- He didn't do anything?

- No, no, no, he didn't even approach... no more, he was just outside of the craft. It was about the

- 9 -

same kind of shape, same beast, if you mean, same human being ... They weren't beasts.

- It must have looked like a skittle?

- Head out, that's all, yes. You tale a sheet, see, you make a middle hole, you put it on, that's all it was.

- No arms, nothing?

- Nothing!

- But, when he ... How...? ...

- No, no no. In his cape, that it was big, well it floated ...

- He must have moved his hands in his cloak?

Yes, probably? ... I felt that he was touching me, but I did not see, see, emanate an arm, no... When he brought this device, I did not notice if he held this in one hand, if he had claws, if he had ... No... I can't say anything, I didn't see them. I didn't notice it.

... / ...

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THE
"ROUZAUD" CASE

- The day of the observation, the witness made the trip: MOUSSOULENS-CARCASSONNE in "his front wheel drive", to pick up a person from MARSEILLE at the station of that city: It was a business meeting - probably having some connection with the "used car"..

The place of landing is located two kilometers from Moussoulens, 800 meters from the intersection formed by the RN 113, and 8 km northwest of Carcassonne. The road forms a slight bend here. On the other hand, the roadway being 5 to 6 meters wide, we can estimate the wingspan of the craft at about three meters.

- Mr. Rousseau was born on September 20, 1912.

The people of the village are well aware of the story of the landing and, without having a firm opinion on the "Rouzeaud" testimony, consider him "intelligent, honest and... clever." Note that neither the newspapers nor the gendarmerie got wind of the case.

Additional sightings:

(cf .: "M.O.C." by Aimé MICHEL - p. 84 to 86).

9/22/1954: around 8 p.m. cigar of the clouds, red, above the Parisian agglomeration.

9/23/1954: observation: nocturnal (after 0:00) - witnesses on board a cargo ship: a dimly luminous reddish disc - immobility - with binoculars: various movements (rotation) and from time to time: very bright green reflections. Daytime observations in Le Puy, and in several surrounding villages.

FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF Mssrs
TASEI AND BAILLON
OCTOBER 13, 1968.

- October 13, 1968, little

- 10 -

before noon, we went to see Mr. ALARY at his home, 60 rue Jean Bringer in Carcassonne. We learned that the son of Mr. Alary, theatrical director in Carcassonne had indeed conducted his personal investigation at the time. Mr. Allary was kind enough to phone his son so that I could finally complete the investigation (at the end of 1967, I had written, indeed, to Mr. Alary, without receiving an answer).

- The theatrical director appeared very embarrassed when I broached the question: first feigning total ignorance, he then confessed to me that it was lost in the mists of time", to finally assert that the small object in question was slag debris. The Paris laboratory would have returned only the result of the analysis, keeping the "stone" in their hands. Mr. Allary told me of the caution that should be observed before affirming anything: he did not want to give me any personal details on the "ROUZEAUD case".

As a conclusion, here is what we assume, Jean-Claude and myself:

1) - Mr. ROUZEAUD witnessed the landing of a "U.F.O."; in the same way he saw 2 small beings near the craft: the details provided by the witness coincide indeed nvec those that the "ufologists" know of testimonies notably after September 23, 1954).

2) - It is conceivable that having actually seen something extraordinary, the witness sought natural support for his testimony, this being, moreover, a character trait of the peasants: I remember that during my first visit, to the home of the witness, having found only his wife, she told me to introduce the case "oh yes! the little device that "they" left him in the grass": this seems to prove the strong impression that this "additive" (artificial?) produced at the time.

Investigation by:
Mrs TASEI and BAILLON

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

The author indicates that on September 23, 1954, at 03:00, Mr. Rouzeaud, aged 42, just left Moussoulens, to fetch a friend coming from Marseilles at the Carcassonne station, driving his "Traction Avant" car on the National Road 269, and entered a curve of the road when he saw posed in the full middle of the road an object he was unable to identify.

The place is at the level of "Les Pépinières de Bernardo" in an area called "Le Pays de Camas de Pezens", at 2 km from Moussoulens, at the crossroads of RN269 and RN113.

Mr. Rouzeaud approached thinking some vehicle was blocking the road and came at 10 meters of the object. He stopped the car and got out to check what it was, and distinguished a small human shape seeming to come out of the object; it is said that the figure resembled a "small haystack" or a "half-egg".

Mr Rouzeaud asked this figure if it needed help, he gets no answer, he approached more but the figure, who was possibly wearing a cape and whose face was not clearly visible, pushed him back with one hand while uttering words in a language Mr. Rouzeaud was unable to understand.

The figures made gestures at Mr. Rouzeaud meaning that he should not touch the object and that he should step back. He then, still by gestures, points at the moon and at its apparatus, repeatedly, and Mr. Rouzeaud deduced that the figure meant that it will come back at the next moon.

A second UFO occupant then emerged from the object, described as having a height of 1.30 to 1.35 meters, its face not being distinguished either.

Immediately, the two figures enter the object, the witness being unable to tell how. The witness believed that the apparatus will then be parked at the edge of the road, but instead, he first hears a noise similar to that of a flock of birds, and sees the object rise up to a height of about 200 meters, then go to the north "as fast as an arrow."

Mr. Rouzeaud then went back to his car, wondering if he had been dreaming.

Jean Sider indicates that the investigation by François Taset and Jean-Claude Baillon revealed that Mr. Rouzeaud first said nothing about that for fear of ridicule, but 15 days later, while picking up the grapes at his father's vineyard, he told it to the latter, who did not believe in flying saucers, and then, the whole village knew about it.

Jean Sider specifies that Mr. Rouzeaud claimed to have found an object on the road well after the object had gone, apparently several days after the sighting, and that he gave this object to a shoe reseller called Mr. Alary, of Carcassonne, who was with one Mr. Rives, in order to have to object analyzed.

This object is described by Jean Sider as "not larger than a chesnut", with a smooth top as if it had been varnished, of the color of earth, and resisting to an attempt to open it with a knife.

Mr. Alary allegedly claimed that the chemists contacted to analyze this object were unable to identify its composition, and it is claimed that when Mr. Rouzeaud asked for the object, he did not get it because it was said to have been sent to Paris for further analysis. Jean Sider indicates that Mr. Rives was a bar owner in Carcassonne at the time, who moved to Perpignan in 1967, and that Mr. Rouzeaud, who sold used car, was a close friend of his as he conducted business in Mr. Rives' bar. Jean Sider indicates that it seems that it was this Mr. rives who asked Mr. Rouzeau to go back to the sighting's location to look for evidence.

Jean Sider indicates that the investigators visited Mr. Alary in Carcassonne on October 13, 1968, and learned that Mr Alary's son Jean first claimed he knew nothing about it, seemingly embarrassed, then said that he investigated in 1954 but that the details of the affaire were "lost in the fog of time". He then admitted that he got the object, but that it was an ordinary piece of iron, that "the laboratory in Paris" had sent an analysis report but did not return the object.

Jean Sider indicates that the investigators concluded that the sighting was true, that they sent their report to the ufology group GEPA for publishing but for some reason GEPA did not do that.

Jean Sider indicates that the source of the above is the Alain Gamard File, quoting the OBRIS-OVNI Bulletin #1 for 1969 and quoting the GEOS International bulletin #2 for September 1969 pp 5-11.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

3816: 1954/09/23 03:00 5 2:14:00 E 43:17:00 N 3333 WEU FRN AUD 8:6

MOUSSOULENS,FR:OVOID on N269:2 PSH EXIT:GESTURES:RE-ENTER+^+>>N:poss.traces

Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 166 : ROAD+RAILS

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

Encounters with Aliens On this Day

September 23

[...]

1954 - At three o'clock in the morning an ovoid-shaped UFO was sighted on Highway N269 in Moussoulens, France. Two human-looking occupants exited the craft, gestured, then re-entered it and the object took off, flying to the north. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 3617; Jean Sider, Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste, p. 166).

[...]

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Aude in Pezens on September 23, 1954 at 03:00 hours "The drives on the D629 coming from Moussoulens to go to Carcassonne. Suddenly about halfway between the way gooing to the place called La Cammas and the crossroads with the N113 his vehicle is blocked by an odd mass in the form of a half of an egg placed in the middle of the roadway. He stops his vehicle within ten meters of the object and goes out. He then sees a human shape of average size which appears to emerge from the mass. The witness asks him whether he needs help thinking he was dealing with another motorist victim of breakdown. He would then approach when the individual pushes him back with a hand while pronouncing some words in an unknown language. By gesture he indicates the Moon to him then his apparatus and that, several times in continuation. A second occupant of smaller size leaves the luminous mass. The first character deposits in the grass at the edge of the road a small object while making the witness understand that he should absolutely not touch it. Both character reinstate the object in the middle of the road which takes vertically on two hundred meters to move like an arrow horizontally towards the north."

"The description of the entities is as follows: approximately 1m30 to 1m35 whose head exceeds of a kind of cape covering all the remainder of the body except for the arm. The object was luminous, like phosphorescent, and the light was more powerful than the headlights of witness' car.

"Thereafter the witness looked at the place again and found the small object deposited on the side. It had the size and the shape of a sweet chestnut but an earthy and smooth aspect. A few times later the witness ended up revealing his adventure to two residents of Carcassonne who were lead to the location and seized the small object. The witness wanted to recover the object some time later, the two chaps claimed to have sent the object to a laboratory of Paris for analysis whom had never returned it to them saying that it was an ordinary piece of blast-furnace slag."

The source is indicated as "Lumières dans la Nuit numéro 374".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 23 September 1954 at 03:30 in Moussoulens, France "Ovoid on highway N269. two human-looking occupants exit, gesture, re-enter. Object takes off, rapidly to the north. Possible traces."

And: "At three o'clock in the morning an ovoid-shaped UFO was sighted on Highway N269 in Moussoulens, France. Two human-looking occupants exited the craft, gestured, then re-entered it and the object took off, flying to the north."

And: "Close encounter with an unidentified craft and its occupants. One ovoid object was observed on a road (Rouzeaud). Two humanoids were seen."

The sources are indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

*Sep. 23, 1954 - At three o'clock in the morning an ovoid-shaped UFO was sighted on Highway N269 in Moussoulens, France. Two human-looking occupants exited the craft, gestured, then re-entered it and the object took off, flying to the north. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 3617; Jean Sider, Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste, p. 166).

[Ref. jmd1:] JOEL MESNARD:

Recalling that the case was published in LDLN 374, the author publishes a sketch for this observation.

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19540923 23.09.1954 Moussoulens France CE III

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

September 23 1954. 0300hrs.

MOUSSOULENS (AUDE : FRANCE)

Mr Rouzeaud (42) was driving from Moussoulens to pick up a friend from the Marseilles to Carcassone train, along Rte 269, when turning a bend, at the RN 269/RN 113 crossroad, he saw, 10m away, something blocking the road. It was a sort of half egg shaped object, from which a human form, wearing a cape, and whose face was hidden emerged. The stranger gestured to Rouzeaud not to touch the machine, and to back away. He also interpreted the gestures as meaning the being would return at the next moon. This being was joined by another figure, who seemed female, about 1.3-1.35m tall, her face was also covered. The two beings re-entered the craft in a way R could not understand, and the thing took off with a rustling sound. Some days later he found an object the size of a chestnut at the scene. It was passed on to an acquaintance for analysis but was not seen again.

Gross 1954. citing Sider 1997 p168 citing Alain Gamard citing Orbis 1 citing GEOS International 2 p5 citing investigation by Francois Taset and Jean-Claude Baillon in 1969

Explanations:

Map.

Not looked for yet.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Moussoulens, Aude, Rouzaud, Jean Alary, Rives, Pépinières de Bernardo, Camas, Pezens, crossroads, road, landing, take-off, maneuver, object, occupants, humanoids, speaking, noise, sound, small, analysis, object, iron

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
1.0 Patrick Gross October 17, 2007 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross January 28, 2010 Addition [dj1], [lcn1], [uda1].
1.2 Patrick Gross November 15, 2014 Addition [nip1].
1.3 Patrick Gross January 31, 2017 Addition [ubk1].
1.4 Patrick Gross February 16, 2017 Addition [jmd1].
1.5 Patrick Gross February 13, 2021 Additions [geo1], [lhh1], [prn2].

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