Unnoticed by ufologists, at the time of the sightings flap in France in 1967, the case in Wissous on July 19, 1967 was reported only in the newspaper Le Parisien Libéré for July 21, 1967.
Its witness, a 40-year-old tradesman described as a balanced man, a sportsman, non-drinking, and indifferent to the fantastic, remained anonymous. He had two small private gardens surrounded by high stone walls in the accesses of Wissous close to the cemetery, and that day at half past midday, he went there to look at his fruit trees.
Arriving close to one of the shacks he had built in this garden, he saw a very sharp gleam there, of greenish color, similar to the light produced by welding stations. He initially thought that the army pensioner who had the keys must have been working at something inside.
He approached the door, and suddenly, a flash of greenish light, more powerful than those of the thunderstorm, blinded him. He felt a force; which seemed to accompany this flash and threw him down on the ground and paralyzed him, or made him feel paralyzed.
At this time, in a state of semi-lethargy, he saw two silver, vague forms coming out. He then saw these forms fleeing and passing the wall, to reach the second garden he owned.
After their departure, he found enough strength to go to this wall, on which he found no trace of climbing, nor damage to the fragile iron wire. In the second garden, where the nettles were high, he found no trace of passage of man, but noticed within five meters approximately from the wall, two tracks similar to those left by skis in the snow, which formed a " V ".
He went in a doctor, who diagnosed a very strong commotion, and in the evening, he told his experience to a friend, a physicist of the nuclear research center of Saclay, who was intrigued enough to test him with a Geiger counter: he had received a good amount of radiations; his friend indicating that they were different from those of the usual radioactivity, and the newspaper reported that these radiations had decreased by 30% the following day.
In 2007, a local investigator informed my that he had tried to find the witness but he wasn't home then, and a few days later, the investigator saw a new article of the newspaper revealing that the alleged witness invented everything to make the talk about him.
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[Ref. lp1:] "LE PARISIEN LIBERE" NEWSPAPER:
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FLYING SAUCERSA RESIDENT OF WISSOUS (The Essonne):"HERE, I SAW LUMINOUS GHOSTSAnd I was commotioned by a violent green flashThe tradesman of Wissous (right) is a balanced man: 40 years old,, 1 m 80, a sports enthusiasts (wrestling), vegetarian, anti-alcoholic, not a science-fiction buff. Here, reconstituted by our draftsmen, the phenomena he describes. |
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FLYING SAUCERSIN WISSOUS: a resident saw luminous ghosts"I know that if I tell my story, I will be called a crackpot. And yet, I do not invent anything. I saw a dazzling gleam... Then two vague forms that fled after having neutralized me. I did not believe in flying saucers nor in science fiction adventures. I do not draw any conclusion... I refrain from explaining the diplay I witnessed and only try to understand what I experienced..." The man who says this is Mr. L.M..., tradesman. He is a 40 year old sportsman, perfectly balanced: 1 m 80, enthusiast of wrestling and weightlifting. - I do not drink. I am vegetarian, for in my business, it is necessary to keep a cool head. My life is without stories and I let myself impress neither by the novels nor by the movies. But this time, I do not understand any more... Listen... The extravagant story of Mr. L M..., started the day before yesterday. - I am owner of two gardens, closed by tall walls, close to the Wissous cemetery. Usually, nobody goes there, except a former Leclerc division [WWII] chap who comes to monitor the fruit trees. Even I, at harvest times, I make a point of checking my redberries and apricot trees. So, yesterday... In the lone gardenThe man hesitates one moment, like to gather a maximum of precision from his memories. He lives again in thought his insane day of Wednesday. It is half past noon. At the very close airport of Orly, the Boeings and the Caravelles take off and thunder in the sky. Mr. L. M... goes up towards the old Wissous, with its paved streets, its old houses dating from the time when it was only a village. There is nobody at this hour in the cemetery area and the deserted school. Nobody to see the tall grasses in the abandoned gardens. Nobody to listen to the steps of Mr. L.M... who - as he used to - was "having a glance" at his trees. - I opened the garden's door and I was surprised to see in one of the shacks that I had built there a very sharp gleam, greenish, similar to that which of the blowtorches of the welding stations produce. I thought that the Leclerc soldier to which I entrusted the keys must be working at something inside one of the workshops. I approached the door and suddenly, a greenish flash, more powerful than a storm lightning, blinded me. The energy that seemed to accompany it threw me at ground and made me as passive as someone paralyzed. Then... Then Mr. L M..., in a semi-lethargy, saw two silver, vague forms, come out! - Did they shoot the green light against me? I am not unaware that just wondering about that will raise doubts on my sanity. I was on the ground, helpless, and yet conscious. I saw them passing the wall to reach the second garden of which I am also the owner... after their departure, I found enough strength to get in the direction where they had fled. There was no trace of climbing on the stone wall, and in the second garden, where the nettles are high, no trace of passage... only two furrows, approximately five meters of the wall they crossed. Two furrows, similar to those left by skis in the snow. Two furrows in the shape of a V. - After this adventure, I went to see a doctor. He diagnosed a very strong commotion. In the evening, one of my friends, physicist in Saclay [Nuclear Research Center], to whom I narrated my amazing encounter, was curious enough to test me with a Geiger counter: I had received a frightening dose of radiations which the measuring apparatus detected, but he told me, they were very different from the signals emitted by atomic disintegration. Yesterday morning, this very particular radioactivity that had hit Mr. L. M. had decreased by 30 %. - I do not explain it more than the presence and the escape of the two silvery beings nor the ski traces in the high grass. I have my testimony. Nothing more. Logic in defaultThe Wissous tradesman who, in the full force of the age, tries to reason as a lucid individual, does not put forth any speculation. He, of course, initially thought of fruit robbers. But the total absence of traces on a wall defended by fragile iron wire goes against such an explanation; then, because of the proximity of the strategic strip of Orly - he thought of a visit of clandestine observers. It does not reject, finally, the intrusion of extraterrestrials. - In other times, I would have been in denial. But I saw. I was struck by the green light. I seek the explanation, even beyond what is usually allowed. |
Note: the newspaper also reports on a flying saucer and a mysterious explosion in Troyes; these other parts of the article can be read here.
[Ref. ez1:] ERIC ZURCHER:
Eric Zurcher indicates in a catalogue of previously unpublished cases that on July 21, 1967, in Wissous in the department 91, Mr. L. M... observed two silver beings of vague shape in a field.
He indicates that it was communicated to him by the ufologist Mr. Malvillan, according to a reference which he lost, probably "Le Parisien Libéré".
[Ref. in1:] A FRENCH UFO INVESTIGATOR:
After I published the file, a French ufologist indicated to me:
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Good evening Patrick, My best wishes for this new year which starts impressively I remember well the affair of Wissous of July 19, 1967. Even if it is more than forty years afo, no doubt, because it was the first case on which I had decided to do my own investigation. At the time, the phone was not very widespread yet, and I had gone on the location to do some talking with the witness. But my attempts at contact were vain, nobody answered when I appeared at the front door. It was a Saturday in the middle of afternoon a few days after having read the article. At the time I lived in Brétigny-sur-Orge (91) and I worked with the [Retained]. The neighborhood seemed just as deserted as the witness' house, thus, I gave up tellign to myself that I come back later. A few days later, another article in Le Parisien announced that the case of the ghosts of Wissous was a hoax invented by the witness with the only aim of making talk about him. So I did not go back. The newspaper clipping announcing the hoax shoudl also be found possibly, towards the end July. As I was not happy, I did not keep it. Best regards [Firstname] [Name] |
When I discovered the case via [lp1] and [ez1] and published the file initially, I noted:
"I am happy to have retrieved the lost "Parisien Libéré" article Mr. Zurcher heard about. It confirms the case, and allows to pu a correct date and correct description on the alleged events, of high strangeness but with no known ufoloical investigation. It was indeed a previously unreleased case."
"Because the witness was a single witness, although there is no justified reason to doubt the report, it cannot be rated as of high credibility."
Thanks to [in1], it now appears that the case was a hoax.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Severe | December 30, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing second newspaper article revealing the hoax. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Hoax.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | [in1] French long time ufologist, "non-skeptic", known to this author. Name withheld by default. |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2007 | Creation, [lp1], [ez1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0a | Patrick Gross | January 6, 2008 | Fixed broken links to newspaper scans in [lp1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 13, 2008 | Addition, [in1]. Change of evaluation accordingly, from "Extraterrestrial visitors, weak certainty", to "Hoax, high certainty." Added to "Point to consider". Addition of new paragraph at the end of the summary: "In 2007, a local investigator informed my that he had tried to find the witness but he wasn't home then, and a few days later, the investigator saw a new article of the newspaper revealing that the alleged witness invented everything to make the talk about him." |
