The Valensole UFO
While we’ve heard UFO tales here at Astonishing Legends from across oceans, the UK, and, of course, the United States…we haven’t talked much about France. But UFOs have captivated the French just as long as their American cousins. In 1965, an event occurred in a lavender field in France that some consider “France’s Roswell”...but what really happened in Valensole?
On the morning of July 1st, 1965, Maurice Masse, a farm owner with lavender fields in Valensole, Franc, was having a seemingly normal day. He was slowly walking towards his barn when he heard a strange sound coming back from the field. He was initially annoyed because it was common at the time for military helicopters to land in his field...but this often damaged the lavender plants. He headed out in a bit of a huff and was shocked at the sight that greeted him.
What greeted him wasn't a helicopter, but instead something shaped like a ruby ball that was the size of the car. It rested on four legs and was just 200 feet away in the middle of the open lavender field. Through an opening or window, he saw two back-to-back seats. As his gaze took in what he was seeing, he also noticed two figures he described as the size and build of eight-year-old boys. These two were taking lavender plants and he decided to confront them, but when he got closer he realized these weren't simply small people...they were humanoids.
They were pale, bald, and had large heads, sharp chins, and elongated eyes that reached their temples. They were wearing clothing, blue-and-green jumpsuits, and, strangest of all, seemed totally unaware that Maurice was staring at them. He continued to watch them and noticed they were making grunts and rumbling noises, communicating, despite their mouths not moving. All of a sudden, they turned to Maurice and pointed a pencil-like device at him.
In that split second between the object being pointed, something happened. Maurice found all of a sudden that he was frozen in place and could not move. The being then placed the pencil-like device back in their pocket and both of them began to run to the the rugby-ball-shaped car. They opened a sliding door and slid inside and the object took off with an enormously loud whistling sound. Within seconds, the UFO had risen high in the air and took off west. Maurice, about 15 minutes later, was finally able to move. He, with good reason, was terribly scared. He decided to head right into town to tell a friend about his encounter.
Maurice's friend then contacted the police on his behalf. Although, Maurice was a bit nervous and tried to belatedly play it off as a joke, perhaps worried about his reputation. However, the strange story took off like wildfire throughout the town.
Government officials would visit the farm and would return several times to reveal the strange things happening at Maurice's farm. There was a flat imprint in the field where Maurice had noted the craft had landed. It also appeared to give way to a cylindrical hole 30 centimeters deep. This hole radiated into four flat groves, creating an X shape. First, the landing area was initially wetter than the rest of the field but eventually hardened to such a degree that it felt like concrete. This is notable because, previously, it was an active field with lavender growing in it so the dirt was pliable. Analysis of the dirt and plants nearby showed a higher concentration of calcium. Lavender near the landing site began to wither and die.
Additionally, Maurice had some lingering effects including extreme fatigue, and was not able to remain awake for more than four hours at a time. This is unique, again, as he was an active farmer at the time and used to physical labor and long days.
Maurice, later in life, claimed that the beings had shared with him some important information. However, what the information was remains a mystery that he took to his grave in 2004.
Thanks to Juliana K for this blogstonishing suggestion!
The blog feature image depicts Lavender fileds in Valensole, taken by Nuno Alves. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.