PUILBOREAU (17) 24.09.2023

On 24 September 2023, a witness (T1) and his wife in their garden in Puilboreau (17) saw a light comparable to Venus toward the northeast at 45° elevation. Initially stationary, it then moved very slowly to the left. A few moments later, T1 saw 3 other UAPs in the same part of the sky. They were spherical, metallic-looking and reflected sunlight. In a triangular formation, they moved east to west at a speed comparable to an aircraft at altitude. No navigation lights, flashing lights or contrail were visible. GEIPAN judges the evidential strength moderate: only 1 of the 2 witnesses completed a Technical Questionnaire, and there are no photographs or videos. Under its criteria, evidential strength is the amount of information collected for an account that is considered reliable and objectively substantiated. Of the hypotheses investigated, only Mylar-covered balloons were retained; see the investigation report. Their spherical shape, highly reflective metallic appearance and straight-line motion with the wind matched T1's description. The balloons may have been released or lost at Puilboreau's rugby stadium during celebrations following a victory. The match ended around 16:55 after a total duration of 1 hour 40 minutes, although the sighting began nearly 2 hours later. Alternatively, they may have been released earlier at a private celebration. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable Mylar-covered balloons.