TOULON (83) 29.5.2018

On 29 May 2018 at 20:48, a witness driving home in Toulon (83) saw a black spherical object moving slowly at low altitude on a straight, horizontal path. He kept watching until he reached home, where he filmed it. It traveled above houses before disappearing in the distance after about 6 minutes of observation. GEIPAN received the technical questionnaire in May 2020. GEIPAN finds low strangeness and a good evidential basis: 1 fairly detailed account and video. The investigation identifies a balloon; see the investigation report. The description and footage fit a spherical or elongated balloon, with the dark color favoring a party balloon over a weather balloon, usually white. Being below the cloud layer limits its altitude to a few hundred meters, consistent with this explanation. Its path exactly matches the direction of the light wind, accounting for its slow travel. GEIPAN classifies the case A: observation of a party balloon.