The Marius Dewilde Case (1954)
On September 10, 1954, in Quarouble, northern France, railway crossing guard Marius Dewilde stepped outside after his dog barked: he found a dark craft resting on the tracks and two small suited figures. As he approached, a beam of light paralyzed him until the craft took off. His account triggered the largest wave of UFO sightings in French history.
Witnesses
1 railway worker
Why it endures
A single witness but a national trigger: hundreds of testimonies would follow in the following weeks across all of France.
Official version (contested)
No explanation was accepted by the gendarmes, who found ground impressions matching Dewilde's account.