The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
Reference number for this case: 9-oct-54-Briatexte. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
[Ref. 1532] "LA DEPECHE DU MIDI" NEWSPAPER:
An resident of Briatexte encouters a flying saucer and its two occupants whom he nearly crushed with his car.Briatexte. -- Saturday evening, October 9, at 08:30 p.m., while returning from Toulouse, Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technician at the Analgic company - currently exposing at the Domestic Arts in Toulouse - and his two cousins, saw in the locality "La Caïffe", on main road RN 631, at at one hour from briatexte (the Tarn) a flying saucer and its passengers. Here is the exact account of the interview which Mr. Mitto granted us: "As I do every evening after the closing of my stand, I returned to my parents' in Briatexte, and that day, by mere chance, I took along my two cousins. I drove at a quite good pace when, after the contour of "La Caïffe", my cousins and I distinguished two small characters - the size of children from 11 to 12 years old - crossing the road within four or five meters in front of the car and which jumped in the meadow. Instinctively, I slowed down and stopped twenty meters further. Just in the time to get out, we saw a large half-spherical disc rounded at the base, of a diameter of six meters approximately, flying away vertically. The machine of red-orange color, seemed to be sucked up, puffed up, and disappeared in the sky like a Bengal fierwork. We had just the time to follow it with the eyes." At our last question, Mr. Mitto told us: "Believe that it is not an hallucination: we really lived it, and in all objectivity, you can publish what I have just told you." |
[Ref. 1658] "LE MERIDIONAL" NEWSPAPER:
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In the area of ToulouseA car driver has "seen" the passengers of a "saucer"ALBI. -- A motorist of Briatexte (Tarn), Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technician in a company currently exposing at the "domestic Arts" of Toulouse, stated to have encountered, at nightfall, on national road N.631, the passengers of a flying saucer. "Returning from Toulouse, in company of two parents", he said, "I suddenly distinguished in the beam from my headlights two small characters who crossed the road, within a few meters hardly of my car. I stopped at once and, to our great amazement, we then saw take off from a nearby meadow a large red disc of a diameter of about 6 meters, going up vertically. The machine disappeared in the sky in a few seconds. " Mysterious machines in the sky of BombayBOMBAY. -. Several people claim to have seen flying saucers above Bombay during the last days. Mr. G Joshi, among others, businessman, stated to have seen, last Thursday at midnight, a luminous disc flying at a terrifying speed, from the South in North. He specified that the machine was roughly a foot in diameter and that its center was dark, but that its periphery was luminous. The " flying saucer " crossed the sky without noise nor emitting of smoke. Mr. Michael Jacob, studying with the college of Bombay, also claimed to have seen a flying saucer. The description that he gave of the machine is very similar to that provided by Mr. Joshi. |
[Ref. 1662:] "LE PROVENCAL" NEWSPAPER:
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I SAW TWO PASSENGERS
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[Ref. 1524:] "LE QUOTIDIEN DE LA HAUTE-LOIRE" NEWSPAPER:
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[...] A motorist of Briatexte (Tarn), Mr. Jean Pierre Mitto, technician in a company currently exposing at the Domestic Arts of Toulouse stated to have met at the fall of the night, on national road N.631, the passengers of a flying saucer. "Returning from Toulouse in company of two relatives," he said, "I suddenly distinguished in the beam of my headlights two small characters who crossed the road at hardly a few meters of my car. I stopped at once and, to our great astonishment, we then saw flying away of a nearby meadow a large red disc of a diameter of six meters approximately, going up vertically. The machine disappeared in the sky in a few seconds. [...] |
[Ref. 1534] "LE TARN LIBRE" NEWSPAPER:
AN INHABITED SAUCER NEAR BRIATEXTEA newspaper of Toulouse specifies that Saturday evening, October 9, at 08:30 p.m., while returning from Toulouse, Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technician at the Analgic company - exposing at the Domestic Arts in Toulouse - and his two cousins, saw at the locality "La Caïffe", on main road RN 631, at one hour of Briatexte, a flying saucer and its passengers. Here is the account made by Mr. Mitto: "I was returned to my parents' in Briatexte and, that day, I took along my two cousins. I drove at a rather fast pace when, after the contour of "La Caïffe", we distinguished two small characters - the size of children from 11 to 12 years old - crossing the road within 4 or 5 meters in front of the car and who jumped in the meadow. Just in the time to get out, we saw a large half-spherical disc, rounded at the base, of a diameter of 6 m approximately flying away vertically. The machine, of red-orange color, seemed to be sucked, puffed up, and disappeared in the sky like a Bengal firework. We had just time to follow it with the eyes a few seconds." Will we know what occurs or will it be necessary to give the instruction to capture a "small Martian" with the lasso? |
[Ref. 549] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on October 9, 1954, at about 08:30 P.M., in Briatexte in the Tarn, Jean-Pierre Mitto, technician of an industrial company was drigin in his car at a high speed on the national road RN 631. Whereas he arrived at the location "La Caïffe",
"... I suddenly distinguished, as the two cousins who accompanied me also did, two small beings of the size of a child from eleven to twelve years old crossing the road in the gleam of my headlights. I stopped at once. In the time to go out, we saw a red luminous disc flying away vertically from the nearby meadow, which disappeared in the sky in a few seconds."
Aimé Michel reports that an investigation was carried out by lieutenant Fayer of the gendarmerie and adjudant Vergne, with a reconstitution on the spot. Mr. Mitto specified to them that the machine had left the ground at a high climbing speed by sucking the air under it.
At the place where Mr. Mitto indicated that the disc was posed, odd brownish stains of a viscous material were found.
The investigators also discovered that at the time of the sighting as indicated by Mr. Mitto, another witness, Mr. Barthe, whose smallholding is in the vicinity of the crossroads of Caïffe, had seen a luminous object in the precise direction where the landing had occurred, which rose at a sharp pace and quickly disappeared at high altitude.
[Ref. 106:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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222 Oct. 09, 1954, 08:30 P.M., Briatexte (France). On Route N631 at "La Caiffe," a technician, J. P. Mitto, was coming back from Toulouse with two other persons when they saw two small figures, the height of 11-year-old children, cross the road about 5 m in front of the car and jump into a pasture. Stopping immediately, the witnesess saw a large convex disk take off vertically. It was about 6 m in diameter, orange in color and was literally "sucked up" into the sky. Brown oily spots were found at the site. (Sud-Ouest, 9 oct. 1954, Paris-Presse, Le Figaro, 13 oct. 1954) (43, 50). |
[Ref. 415:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
Michel Carrouges lists as a case with small occupants but lacking details that with Mr. Mitto as witness, near Briatexte in the Tarn, on October 9, 1954.
He notes that Mr. Mitto has only seen two small being crossing the road, without being able to detail them, and that even the saucer was not seen well
Further in his book, Carrouges tells of the mystifications of two journalists of the Samedi-Soir weekly newspaper, according to their articles in this newspaper from October 21 to 27, 1954: these journalists left Paris by car, and went in the South, the areas of Cahors, Montauban and Toulouse, equipped with accessories such as divin suits, fireworks and various products of pyrotechnics, to play Martians.
The journalists concluded that all testimonys of flying saucers are stupidities and especially the testimonys of October 13, 1954, one by "Mr. Ott in Toulouse", anoother by Mr. Carcenac in Graulhet, in the Tarn and also that of Mr. Mitto on October 9 in the Tarn, but without naming him.
Carrouges considers it regrettable that what could have been an interesting experiment on the psychology of perception turned into a joke, and that the roads that they followed was given only very partially, the journalists not having specified any date. He also specifies that they actually did not give any proof of their effective passage in the localities they claim to have been in and, ultimately, it is not so outrageous to even wonder whether their reports were not completely made up.
He notes all the same that there are some photographs of witnesses whose good faith was fooled by the journalists in the articles and that it seems difficult that they were invented; that it can thus be admitted these journalists actually operated a round of hoaxes, but that its importance, the precise places and the exact hours are so lacunar that nothing certain can be concluded form the whole.
Michel Carrouges reconstitutes that they have apparently followed the road of Brive, Cahors, Montauban, Toulouse, stopping their car and putting on their disguise and shooting earthly fireworks from time to time at the following places: Pouzergues (in the south of Cahors), Varreye (on the road of Montpezat de Quercy), Montalzet (on main road 20), Saint-Gomhiez (between Fronton and Bouloc, on secondary road 4), from there, or from near there, they made a turn towards Graulhet, then returned at the entry of Toulouse, near the Blagnac airfield, and that thus any testimony on this route, and at this time, is suspect to be illusory.
Among the cases ascribable to the journalists-pranksters, Carrouges indicates that in the case of Briatexte, it is not totally obvious that this explanation should be accepted for sure, for the observation of Mr. Mitto who stated to have seen at approximately 08:30 p.m., two small pilots cross the road in front of his car, and then a large red disc disappearing in the sky.
He alerts that, if this incident is really dated from October 9, as according to Aimé Michel, page 264, it seems then relatively too old, as it is not very likely that the pranksters made two trips to the Tarn and spent five days staying in the area.
[Ref. 152:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on October 9, 1954, according to the witness...
"I was returning from Toulouse to my parents' house in Briatexte and I was with two cousins. After the turning of Caiffe, we saw two small forms of the size of a child age 11 or 12 crossing the road at some 5 meters in front of the car; they leaped in a pasture. I applied the brakes and stopped approximately 20 meters further. We had hardly left the car that we saw a large convex disc flying away vertically."
"It was approximately 6 meters in diameter, was of orange color, and it was literally "sucked" in the sky."
[Ref. 50] CHARLES GARREAU ET RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two authors indicate that in Briatexte in the Tarn, on October 9, 1954, around 6 p.m., according to a dispatch of the A.F.P. and their personal files, a motorist of Briatexte, Jean-Pierre Mitto, technician in an industrial company, drove on the R.N. 631 road with two of his cousins on board the car.
When they arrived at the locality "La Caiffe", all the three distinguished in the beams of their headlights, two small characters who crossed the road at a few meters in front of the car. Jean-Pierre Mitto told:
"Surprised, I stopped at once. To our great amazement, we saw a large red disc flying away, of approximately 6 meters in diameter. The machine flw away vertically, and it disappeared in a few seconds."
The authors point out that in his book " Mysterieux Objets Célestes", Aimé Michel reports that at the time of the investigation carried out by Lieutenant Fayet of the gendarmerie and Adjudant Vergne, Mr. Mitto had specified that the craft machine had left the ground at a very high climbing speed "while sucking the air under it." At the place in the meadow indicated by Mr. Mitto as being that where the machine had been posed, the investigators found strange and slightly viscous brownish spots.
[Ref. 112:] ERICH ZUERCHER:
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"We, were the Martians." This headline has just concluded a serie of hoaxes perpretrated by two Parisian reporters, Mr. Michel Agnelet and Mr. Pierre Laforêt. |
[Ref. 223] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Briatexte in the Tarn on October 9, 1954 at 08:30 p.m., a technician in an industrial company is with two of his cousins. He drives on National Road N631. While arriving at the locality "Caiffé", they distinguish, in the beams of the headlights, two small characters of the size of an eleven year old child who cross the road at a few five meters in front of the car, and which leap in a pasture.
The driver applies the brakes and stops twenty meters further. Hardly had they left the car, that three witnesses observe the departure of a large red-orange disc of approximately six meters in diameter, at high speed, like literally "sucked up" in the sky (according to Vallée and Bowen) or by sucking the air under it (according to Michel).
The authors indicate that the case was asserted "with weak conviction" by two journalists who had been organizing a series of hoaxes in the area but 4 days later, whereas the date of October 9 is certain.
[Ref. 134:] ALBERT ROSALES, HUMCAT:
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144. Location. Briatexte France Date: October 9 1954 Time: 2030 Jean Pierre Mitto was driving near Briatexte with his 2 cousins when they perceived 2 small beings the size of 11 or 12-year-old children crossing the road in front of the car; he braked to a stop. Immediately they saw a red glowing disc rise straight up into the sky from an adjoining field. Traces were found. Humcat 1954-84 Source: Aime Michel, quoting Local Police Type: C |
After the observation, two parisian press journalists announced that they were the authors of a hoax, dressing up as Martians to denounce the gullibility of people reporting UFOs. The description of the saucer compared to fireworks is a good confirmation of this, since the two hoaxers used fireworks rockets to simulate the saucers.
It so happens that the assertions of the two pranksters - journalists of Samedi-Soir offer at least one proof that they invented at least one of their mystification; this casting further doubt on the whole of their claims.
As a matter of fact, they claim that they were the pranksters that fooled Mr Ott, in Toulouse. However, if Toulouse was indeed on their claimed route, the observation of Mr. Ott by no means took place in Toulouse in the South but in Mulhouse, in the East, in Alsace, almost at the other end of France!
The mistrust of Michel Carrouges with regard to these claims of hoaxes by these journalists is thereby reinforced.
Probably the famous hoax by Parisian journalists Michel Agnelet and Pierre Laforêt.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Briatexte, Tarn, La Caiffe, J.P. Mitto, multiple, occupants, humanoids, disk, orange, traces, oil, fireworks
[-] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
