Valensole UFO Encounter

Anyone who has ever scanned the tabloids while waiting in a grocery store checkout line knows a thing or two about extraterrestrial beings and their motives for visiting Earth. Those same passive readers have also seen that the dangers associated with alleged UFO encounters can vary greatly, from benign to downright hazardous. One interesting encounter that was reported in France many decades ago was supposedly on the latter end of that spectrum.

Valensole France is a small community known as the “Lavender Village of France.” In 1965, Maurice Masse, a farmer, was working in his fields when he noticed two children standing nearby. As Masse looked closer at the children, he was surprised to realize that they were not children at all but strange-looking beings. He later described them as having large, bald heads, pasty faces, huge, slanted eyes, and wearing coveralls. As he watched them, they returned Masse’s stare back as they stood by an odd-looking craft. Masse then noticed that one of them was holding an unidentifiable, tube-like device. 

Suddenly, Masse was hit and disabled by a beam of energy. He fell to the ground unconscious. However, he awoke in time to see the craft fly away into the sky. Afterward, he reported the experience to the French gendarmerie who conducted an extensive investigation. During a later interview, Masse was shown a drawing of an unidentified flying object that had landed in Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Masse said the depiction on the paper matched the craft he had seen in his field. 

For several years after the incident, Masse was unable to grow crops in the spot where the UFO had allegedly been located. Interestingly, Masse came to consider the encounter "a spiritual experience" and said he looked upon the site as "hallowed ground" that "should be kept in his family forever." 

With the unknown factor of extraterrestrials’ motives, is it any wonder that believers and hopers have a sense of foreboding about alien life? The question “What would they do if they were here and free to do their will on earth” has led many people to dread if and when otherworldly creatures are discovered or come en masse. The experience of a small-town French farmer doesn’t answer the question, but it does move the needle a little further from a benign