The distress signal was created by Rousseau not long after her scientific expedition arrived on the Island in 1988, three days before Alex was born. It was spoken in French, and was broadcast from the Radio Tower. Because of the jamming equipment in the Looking Glass, the transmission was never heard off the Island.

It was first heard by the survivors when Sayid managed to pick up the signal from the transceiver in the cockpit. It said, "They all died. Please help us. I'll try to make it to the Black Rock. It killed them, it killed them all." All of this was in french, but Shannon was able to translate it.

The distress signal was finally ended on December 23, 2004, during its 255,915 iteration. Rousseau claimed that the Radio Tower, where she broadcast the signal, was near the Black Rock, and was controlled by the Others; both statements were proved false.

Questions:

• Why did Rousseau broadcast the signal in French instead of English?

That is a very good question that I had not thought about. Possibly she didn't think anyone on the island would understand French? Or possibly because French was her language, and when under stress and fear it could have been easier to speak her own language.
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