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Three Alsatian UFO buffs created the French Federation of Ufology. Let's meet them.
"AT THE BEGINNING, I was interested in demonstrating that UFOs do not exist, my goal was to shed light on the mystery in a scientific manner," says Patrick Gross, a IT worker based in Brunstatt, president of the French Federation for Ufology; which has been around for a little over a year. Lucien [X], a native of Wittelsheim, has been fascinated for many years by unidentified flying objects, UFOs, since precisely the day he was himself a witness of one of these phenomena which provoke in some people a deep skepticism and in others a phantasmagoria. At the FFU, he is responsible for the translation and investigations commissions. As also E[] [X], of [-] and secretary of the association, they have nothing of this fanatic aspect full of proselytism that is often found among believers in paranormal things. "For many, UFO equals extraterrestrials. For us not at all. The ufologists we are not chasing little green men. But when credible witnesses evoke strange observations like things the size of an aircraft carrier that floats noiselessly above the roofs with blue squares and lights on it; things that cannot be explained rationally to our knowledge, it puzzles us," Patrick Gross says.
A report submitted to President Chirac
And, Lucien [X] says, ufologists are not alone: "Former senior officials of the French armed forces and scientists, acting in a private capacity have studied observations and submitted their report to President Jacques Chirac in 1999. This Cometa report concludes UFOs are for real, but when Chirac sent a commission of inquiry last year to the United States, they were dismissed for reasons of secrecy. In France, it is the gendarmerie that is responsible for investigating UFO sightings and transmits their reports to Sepra, the department of expertise of the phenomena of atmospheric reentry.
There are in France between 150 and 200 associations or clubs of people passionate about ufology, not to mention those who are interested alone in their corner; which was also more or less the case of our three Alsatians. They met on the internet with other UFO enthusiasts, including P[] [X], of Marseille, and F[] [X], of [X]. The idea came to them to create the French Ufology Federation (which was done in July 2001). Why? "To create a alert network between the associations and to effectively disseminate the observations and the testimonies. The witnesses often do not know who to turn to. Each association has its way of approaching the problem. Our goal is not to swallow them but to help them, we are here to gather and not to divide," answer Patrick Gross and Lucien [X]. The tools that the FFU has given itself are many: a website (http://www. ffu.fr.stl) with news about the field, conferences, meetings, publications..., a quarterly magazine (Ovni-France), the collection of observations, the translation of foreign documents, and the training of the investigators.
When a phenomenon is reported to them from this or that region of France, they transmit the testimonies to the member association of the FFU present in the region which then carries out an investigation. In the Mulhouse region, the only ufology association is the FFU, they investigate locally themselves the reported cases, such as that described by a motorist, the evening of July 5 on the A 35 motorway near the cross of the Hardt. A huge flying object, a triangle formed by three white lights and a red light in a circle in the middle, which moved slowly and silently. "I had not drunk and I do not taken drugs, this is the first time I see such a phenomenon and I'm sure I have not dreamed," the motorist said.
"The investigation is always done with two persons and the FFU also has investigators," says Lucien [X]. How are these investigations done? "We are looking for other witnesses, for example through notices in the press. We go on the scene putting ourselves in the location of the witnesses. We take pictures, we look for matches, we check with the ephemerides, the cartography, the weather conditions, the position of the stars, the trajectories of planes... There is also a big part of psychological evaluation, and we are also in touch with specialists. At the FFU, we have airline pilots, and a rear-admiral." And Lucien [X] adds: "The explanation of the July sighting in Mulhouse, we still do not have it. But we know that after investigation, 95% of the reported facts are misinterpretations. Sometimes we cannot conclude and everything is possible..."
Secretary of the Fédération française d'ufologie,
[Address], Phone. 06.[] or 06.[].
www.ffu.fr.st
