TALMONT-SAINT-HILAIRE (85) 01.01.2016

On 1 January 2016 at 00:16, a witness saw flame-colored lights move silently north-northeast along a horizontal path at low altitude. The observation lasted 5 minutes. No other report came from the area. Orange balls or disks crossing the sky over several minutes during New Year's Eve celebrations strongly suggest sky lanterns, probably released nearby after a private party. Groups of 4 or 5 horizontally aligned lights probably reflect closely spaced launches in batches separated by longer pauses. The analysis describes northeast movement while weather measured 8 km away indicated wind toward the northwest. It explains that the witness could reliably judge little beyond the south-to-north component of the movement. GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable sky lanterns.