SEYNE-SUR-MER (LA) (83) 17.07.2021

On 17 July 2021 at about 20:45, while enjoying their garden under a clear sky, the main witness, T1, noticed a luminous object apparently coming from Fort Napoléon and moving silently across the sky. T1 alerted their spouse, T2, stood up and moved closer to examine it. It was a smooth shiny sphere resembling a pétanque ball, descending in a straight line towards the sea. It remained visible for about 15 seconds before disappearing behind nearby trees. Only 1 direct account was collected. GEIPAN rates evidential support as moderate: only 1 of the 2 witnesses reported the sighting, and there is no photograph or video. In GEIPAN’s terminology, evidential support is the amount of reliable, objectively established information collected for an account. The available information, description, behaviour, matching wind direction and relative speed suggest a Mylar balloon (see the investigation report). It may have been released or lost at Fort Napoléon or nearby, perhaps by a child in this heavily visited area during summer. GEIPAN classifies the case A: observation of a Mylar balloon.