LUTTENBACH-PRES-MUNSTER (68) 26.06.2016

On 26 June 2016, between about 00:00 and 00:15, a witness looking from a west-facing window saw a red-orange point of light move slowly and silently toward the northwest before trees hid it. The sighting lasted 1–2 minutes. Only 1 account was collected in this municipality. The gendarmerie investigation noted a separate sighting of about 30 points that same evening and time period in Nanteuil-la-Forêt (51), far away. The source takes this as confirmation of lantern-release activity in different parts of France during summer. The light's color, shape and trajectory are characteristic of a sky lantern. The west-facing witness described slow northward movement: “It moved at low speed,” and about 1–2 minutes passed before it moved to the right. The source calls this consistent with a wind from the north at 3 km/h recorded at Hohrod (68), 3 km away (see Infoclimat), retaining that directional inconsistency. A weekend night favorable to festive events further supports the hypothesis. Releasing many lanterns at night is spectacular but expensive; individuals also very commonly release a single lantern. Private parties are difficult to locate because those releasing lanterns do not always notify the municipal or prefectural authorities. GEIPAN classifies the case B: sky lantern passage.