Mourieras, FR being encounter — September 10, 1954

Antoine Mazaud, a farmer near Mouriéras in Corrèze, reported an unusual meeting on the evening of September 10, 1954. He was returning across the countryside with a pitchfork when he encountered a man wearing a helmet compared to a motorcyclist’s. Contemporary press coverage made the episode one of the early, widely circulated stories of the French autumn wave. Mazaud’s visitor was human-sized and reportedly made friendly gestures, including a handshake; newspaper versions also mention an embrace or kiss and incomprehensible speech. The man then went toward a small cigar-shaped object, estimated at roughly three or four metres long. It allegedly departed with a buzzing sound resembling a bee. This was a humanlike, helmeted visitor, not a source description of a stereotypical grey. Gendarmes questioned Mazaud, but the reported landing did not yield physical traces. Details passed through newspaper retellings, so greetings and exact timing should be understood as reported recollections. The plate reunites farmer, visitor and small elongated craft; their faces, clothing details and the craft’s fittings are illustrative rather than documentary.