PARIS (75) 06.02.2024

On 6 February 2024 at 12:12, a woman in her Paris living room saw a “small black dot” at the horizon, darker than the aircraft and helicopters she normally watched. It came “from the south” along a straight path and seemed fairly high. Intrigued, she hurried to open her apartment window and took photographs and a short video. It passed over the building and she quickly lost sight of it. The observation lasted about 1 minute 30 seconds. GEIPAN assesses evidential quality as good: although there was only 1 witness, copies of her photographs and video were supplied and analyzed; original files were not provided (see investigation report). Evidential quality means the amount of information collected that is considered reliable and objectively established. The wind direction matched the UAP's motion, favoring a windborne object such as a reflective Mylar party balloon. Parc Montsouris, frequented by children, lies along the direction from which it appeared. Its relatively rapid straight-line movement and silence seemed unusual to the witness. A party balloon explains the silence. Its apparent speed can be explained by being closer than she thought and by strong wind that day, with gusts of 67 km/h. The release's origin could not be established. GEIPAN therefore classifies the case B: probable windborne party balloon.