This article was published in the daily newspaper Le Provençal, France, on July 5, 1965.
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Heat, say some, makes the heads of the peasants of Valensole dizzy. It also appealscertain informers who judge a fact from 100 away kilometers without going on location,to the contempt of the reader!
For in this lavenders field where Mr. Masse saw a mysterious machine landing,there is a hole of 80 cm. We saw it. It appears doubtful that an "Alouette"helicopter can pack iself like this or that ourb landing strips are made of Swiss cheese.
We also saw the trace of the "legs" of the craft. However the Alouette has onlyan undercarriage of three wheels.
Mr. Masse, whom we found yesterday in Giens at friends, confirmed to us:
"The machine had the shape of a giant spider. I clearly counted six "legs" and a central pivot. The "legs" started to turn when the apparatus took off in a deaf noise which has nothing to do with that of a plane or that of a helicopter."
"The craft had neither rotor, nor blades. I claim all the same to be able to recognize an helicopter. It wasn't one. I am formal. The fuselage had an oval shape but I never said that it was a flying saucer."
"I was within 50 meters approximately when I saw the man close to the craft. He had the size a dwarf or of a eight year old small boy. He wore a combination. The time that passed between the moment when I discovered the scene and the disappearance of the apparatus in the sky might be of 30 seconds approximately. I doubt that a helicopter, before taking again the full throttle of its rotor, can take off again so quickly."
Mr. Masse is a serious man who does not want to tell his story anymore. He claims nothing, he simply reports what he saw.
To each one his own conclusion. We wanted however to correct certain assertions of fellow journalists who turned sour to have "missed" the information as of the first day. Mr. Masse could not be victim of a "heat stroke" at 5 o'clock in the morning. He is in addition the opposite of what one calls a prankster. Lastly, contraryto what other newspapers say, a rigorous report was carried out by the gendarmerie.
