On July 1, 1965, French farmer Maurice Masse living in Valensole, Provence, saw a metallic UFO landing in his field. Two aliens, about 4 feet tall with large heads and slanted eyes standing besides the UFO.
While watching the event, Masse was paralyzed by a device aimed by the aliens who then boarded the UFO which departed silently.
Physical evidence of the landing site showed a circular area with permanently damaged vegetation, suggesting intense heat or high-energy output.
The case remains one of the most famous European "close encounters of the third kind".