VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER (06) 21.08.2016

On 21 August 2016 at about 23:30 in Villefranche-sur-Mer (06), a witness saw a first phenomenon that appeared to enter the atmosphere with a white combustion glow and green and orange phases. A few minutes later, below the first sighting, he noticed around 20 objects flashing at a constant rate and rising together. They crossed the sky silently. A female neighbor also saw the phenomenon, but only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN distinguishes 2 phenomena. The first was probably a small meteor entering the atmosphere. The second, apparently entirely different, seems to have caused the witness's puzzlement and prompted his report. GEIPAN considers a release of LED balloons from a boat at sea probable. Rising balloons would have been carried inland by that evening's easterly wind, as shown in the weather record, producing a long passage across the sky. The source explains that LED balloons can display any color, flash and change color randomly, according to a programmed sequence or even in synchrony, depending on price. It refers to an article on reusable LED balloons described as lasting a lifetime. Summer and the location were favorable for celebrations, and the witness, who did not live there, may have encountered this for the first time. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable LED balloons, following a first sighting interpreted as a small meteor.