Maurice Masse, a local farmer in Valensole, France, reported in 1965 seeing a UFO land in a lavender field alongside two aliens.

He used to labor in the fields immediately north of Valensole, in the Basses Mountains of France. During the final week of June 1965, he was surprised to discover that someone had been harvesting lavender shoots.

He decided to apprehend the offender despite the fact that the damage didn't appear to be much more than a minor annoyance.

In 1965, Maurice Masse reported seeing a UFO with two extraterrestrial passengers land in a field. The Valensole Extraterrestrial Encounter Via Maurice Masse

On July 1, at 5:45 a.m., before to starting his tractor and beginning his day's work, Masse lit a cigarette. On his east was a vineyard with a seven-foot-tall trash pile, and to his south was the lavender field. Then, a whistling sound began, which terrified him. To determine the source of the sound, he emerged from behind the heap.

Masse's initial assumption upon hearing the roar was that a jet had landed. To his amazement, it was a mysterious aircraft with the shape of a rugby ball. It was the size of a Dauphine vehicle and was supported by four legs. In addition, the central pivot was firmly anchored in the ground.

A UFO was spotted 200 feet away in a lavender field on the south side of the vineyard. A distance of around 70 feet separated it from the vines. Two individuals stood next to the item, which he later characterized in stature and general look as "eight-year-old boys."

"I knew that I did not have to interact with males, and I observed them the entire time while I crossed the river" (through the vineyard). Both of these entities were on the ground. They were in a squat position. One had his back to me and the other was facing him, and they appeared to be staring at a lavender plant."

Six weeks later, Maurice Masse recalled this event.

Masse went through the vines while attempting to hide from the two people. He continued on despite the fact that he could no longer hide in the field.

As soon as he was noticed, the entities became aware of him. Masse got a good view of them from a distance of 15 to 20 feet once they stood up. These beings had the heads of pumpkins and wore grey-green overalls. Their hands were likewise devoid of skin, but had a more human appearance than their heads. Their mouths lacked lips, and they possessed enormous, slanted eyes. It looked to be a little hole rather than a mouth. Each entity possessed a thin, angular chin. Despite the grunting sounds that accompanied their speech, their mouths did not move in response.

Other than pretending to be kind and "human," the beings were truly from another planet. Masse never describes what occurred soon thereafter. All of the investigators' entreaties and urgings were in vain. Masse was determined about not saying anything. He simply intimated that telepathic contact existed between himself and the creatures.

When he was in close proximity to the beings, one of them pointed a pencil-like instrument at him, rendering him immobile. The item was then reinserted inside the case on its left side. Each individual carried a small case on its left and a larger case on its right. They entered the spaceship via the slidable door with remarkable dexterity. Before vanishing in a matter of seconds, the spaceship propelled itself in a westerly direction with tremendous velocity and a whistling sound. Masse, on the other hand, regained entire control of his body within twenty minutes.

Analysis of Maurice Masse's extraterrestrial experience

After he recovered control of his body, Masse went to the spacecraft's landing site. There, he observed markings on the ground where the pivot and legs had connected.

Masse, who was terrified, decided to walk into town and tell a friend who operated a cafe about his terrifying experience. His friend believed him. Even though Masse had a positive reputation in the community, he urged that his buddy notify the authorities. Masse suddenly realized he should not disclose the occurrence, so he disguised it as a joke. Once he departed, his companion, who was certain that Masse had been sincere the entire time, began telling everyone about this peculiar meeting. In a short time, the entire hamlet and then the entire nation of France were aware of the story. After that, he was quickly encircled by police, journalists, and ufologists.

Ground Traces And Other Consequences After the UFO Encounter at Valensole, by Maurice Masse

Evening found Masse and his 18-year-old daughter returning to the location. As he examined the traces, he saw that the center hole had altered. The aperture has been altered to resemble an inverted funnel. The hole was first filled with liquid mud, but this morning, the material had solidified into cement. Masse attempted to protect his daughter from it. He believed that the location may be hazardous due to the presence of radiation or other forms of destructive energy. Further examinations revealed that it did not contain any radiation.

"I was able to verify the existence of some peculiar and more recent markings in a lavender field with light, newly tilled soil. They consisted of a shallow basin around 1 meter 20 in diameter, with a cylindrical hole 18 cm in diameter and 40 cm deep in the center. In addition, four shallow trenches, each 8cm in diameter and nearly 2 meters in length, created a cross with the cylindrical hole at its center. The soil at this location was compact."

Detailed description of the location by a visitor that day

Three days after the event, he began to feel fatigued. He slept 12–14 hours on the first day and 24 hours on the second. If a worried family member had not awakened him and pushed him to eat, he would have slept longer than twenty-four hours. Over several weeks, his pre-encounter sleep habits reverted to normal.

Aimé Michel, one of the most famous ufologists in France, questioned Masse on August 8. He noted that "traces of the lavender are visible along the take-off trajectory for several hundred meters, as far as a little shack in Manosque and beyond. These traces represent the degeneration of the young shoots previous to July 1, which are drying and dying off, and the unique vigor of the fresh shoots after July 1.

"One or two (sometimes more) desiccated twigs, identical, as far as can be seen, to twigs that have been dried naturally by extreme heat or by autumn. These branches disintegrate into dust between the fingertips. On August 8, similar plants with dried twigs were discovered around 100 meters beneath the supposed takeoff trajectory. The non-desiccated twigs (of these plants with desiccated twigs) exhibited no distinctive characteristics. This phenomena of desiccation was seen at a distance of two or three meters."

Aime Michel examined each plant under the microscope.

There has been no laboratory analysis of the evidence to far. Hence, what would have been crucial evidence of a UFO event was never thoroughly documented.

On August 21, 1967, Michel and Flying Saucer Review editor Charles Bowen interviewed Maurice Masse. The last time Michel saw Masse, two years ago, he seemed considerably more composed than he did now. Masse had plowed over the impression marks a long time ago, yet there was still unmistakable evidence of the previous occurrence. A few weeds developed at the landing site, "a circular patch of ground surrounded by exact rows of lavender plants." The area is approximately 3 yards in circumference, according to the investigators' report, and some lavender plants appear stunted and wilted along its perimeter. These are clearly not as healthy as the rest of the plants in the field.

In November 1968, French astronomer Pierre Guérin was able to identify the location from the rest of the farm due to the site's overgrowth of weeds, but no lavender could be seen. On a later visit in March of 1969, the site was still easily discernible. Guérin questioned Mrs. Masse at her home while her husband was at work during the same visit. Mrs. Masse disclosed that her husband frequently contemplated the entities and believed that the meeting was a spiritual one. Her spouse want to preserve the landing site in the family's history forever. Nonetheless, he attempted to make it appear as though he was no longer interested in his UFO experience to those who were unaware of his plans.