UNION (L') (31) 22.07.2023

During the night of 21–22 July 2023, a resident of L'Union (31) noticed a stationary bright red light emitting red pulses from his home. Initially assuming an aircraft, he paid little attention and went indoors. About 15 minutes later, back on his balcony, he saw it still stationary, with a faint green glow as well. It suddenly moved left, stopped for a few minutes, then moved right. For about 20 minutes it moved back and forth with occasional pauses. The source twice describes continuous observation for about 20 minutes until 02:00, followed by disappearance northwest around 02:05; one sentence conflates these two ending times. No other account was collected. The case has very good evidential strength despite one witness: a complete, precise account and photographs and video. The investigation identified a gendarmerie helicopter (see investigation report). Red and green lights and a flashing point strongly resemble aircraft lighting, while hovering followed by back-and-forth motion favors a helicopter. CNOA's full traffic analysis confirmed a gendarmerie helicopter. Further research established that it was responding to illegal urban stunt driving. The witness had found no aircraft in FlightRadar24, but the service does not show all military aircraft, so that absence was unsurprising. The case is classified A: observation of a gendarmerie helicopter.