SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER (13) 28.08.2020

The case title dates the sighting to 28 August 2020, while the narrative gives 28 August 2023. According to the narrative, at about 21:00 witness 1 saw a faintly luminous white patch, described as football-sized, moving fairly rapidly in many directions across a wide area of sky: looping and zigzagging first in front of him, then behind him. The sky was fairly overcast, with some wind. He considered a “searchlight or pointer,” but saw no trail or beam. The observation lasted about 10 minutes and was silent, according to the summary. Alerted by witness 1, witness 2 initially thought he saw a bird moving rapidly in different directions, but changed his mind after looking carefully. He described a light visible through the clouds, first veil-shaped, then round, simultaneously bright white and pale. He saw no trail, beam or ray of light. He noted the wind and fairly thick cloud at the height of the shape, which remained fairly bright despite the cloud. Witness 1's videos could not be usefully analyzed. The sky image was very noisy, with a blurred luminous patch barely discernible at times (see attached video MOV_0914.mp4). The rapid, multidirectional, circular and zigzag movements, and the patch's veil-like or round appearance, suggested a projection from a Sky Rose or skytracer outdoor searchlight, producing different shapes where it struck clouds. To assess this hypothesis, GEIPAN requested cloud and visibility data from Météo-France. Records for the relevant time were available from Nîmes Garons, 35 km north of the witnesses, and Montpellier Airport, 40 km northwest (see attached documents). At about 19:00 UT, these stations reported: - a low cloud layer at 150–570 m, covering 1–3 oktas; - a second layer at 510–1,980 m, covering 5–6 oktas; - a third layer at 840–3,000 m, covering 5–8 oktas. Clouds were therefore very low and the sky heavily covered at both stations. Similar conditions likely prevailed at the witnesses' location. These conditions favor seeing a Sky Rose or skytracer projection. This powerful outdoor searchlight sweeps one or more beams across the sky, usually to mark an event or entertainment venue. The projected spot changes with the searchlight's sweep and the varying cloud shapes. Witness 1 had considered this explanation but rejected it because no beam was visible rising from the ground. This absence accounted for the perceived strangeness. A Sky Rose's optical beam, generally a laser beam according to the source, is not always visible. Visibility depends on suspended particles between the ground and cloud base, such as water droplets, dust, pollen or pollutants. These particles scatter the light and make the beam visible. A low concentration could explain its invisibility; low clouds could also conceal it. GEIPAN contacted Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer town hall (13) to ask about events on that date. There are festivities at the arena on 28 August. Officials could not confirm use of a Sky Rose or skytracer but said several restaurant owners had one. A projected Sky Rose spot was considered probable because it matched the witnesses' descriptions, although the source could not be identified. GEIPAN classified the case B: probable observation of a Sky Rose, a powerful outdoor searchlight or laser sweeping the sky.