815, Lyons, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The Carolingian archbishop, Agobard of Lyons, described in his De Grandine et Tonitruis of a "certain region called Magonia from whence come ships in the clouds", and how he prevented the stoning death of "three men and a woman who said they had fallen from these same ships."
1952
October 17, 1952, Oloron-Sainte-Marie. Many people saw a cigar-shaped UFO accompanied by 30 disc-shaped objects. These smaller UFOs dropped a white siliceous cotton which covered tree branches and roofs. Some French skeptics thought that the UFOs were an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction of the sun's rays and the siliceous cotton was caused by a migration of field spiders.
1954
On September 10, 1954, a railway worker witnessed two small beings boarding a UFO and flying into the sky. Strange things happened on the region on the following days. The case received notable media attention.
1965
July 1, 1965, Valensole, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. An alleged UFO sighting and close encounter by farmer Maurice Masse. According to Masse, he encountered two small beings near a spherical vehicle that had landed in a nearby field. Masse claims that he was paralyzed when one of the beings pointed a tube-like object towards him. Masse said he watched the beings looking at plants and making grunting sounds until they returned to the vehicle and flew away. According to his wife, Masse said he received some kind of communication from the beings, considered his encounter "a spiritual experience", and looked upon the site as "hallowed ground" that "should be kept in his family forever". UFOlogists consider Masse's claims significant and cite "landing gear impressions" found in the soil.
The Trans-en-Provence Case is considered by UFOlogists to be one of the rare cases where a UFO left material traces. This event took place on January 8, 1981, in Trans-en-Provence, in the French département of Var.
1982
October 21, 1982, Nancy, France. At 12:30 a.m. an ovoid object descended into a garden and hovered above the ground. After 20 minutes the object took off silently into the sky. The witness, a biologist, reported that when the UFO rose up, the grass under it stood up straight. In the afternoon, the witness noted that two amaranth plants located near the UFO had withered leaves. The witness called the Gendarmerie, which made an inspection in the garden and took some samples of the amaranth plants. The analysis of the samples made by GEPAN found that the plants had been dehydrated, but there was no evidence of radiation.
