[D13] DE PUY-SAINTE-REPARADE (LE) (13) VERS AIX-EN-PROVENCE (13) 09.11.2024

While driving to work on the D13 just beyond Saint-Canadet (13), between Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade and Aix-en-Provence, a witness noticed several stationary white lights around 18:50 despite partial cloud cover. They were nearly straight ahead, towards the south. He stopped on the verge to look more closely and photographed the UAP at 18:54. After resuming his journey, he continued watching the lights, now to his left, until they disappeared from view around 19:00. Appendices 1 and 2 show the precise location and visual evidence. GEIPAN assesses the evidence as good: 1 precise account supported by a photograph. Its criterion is the quantity of reliable, objectively supported information collected for an account. Photographic analysis (Appendix 3) and the account identify ground-based lights aimed skywards at low cloud between 800 and 1,800 m altitude. The lowest cloud was mainly stratus, clearly visible in the image and confirmed by the witness. Météo-France cloud data from Bec de l’Aigle, Istres, Marignane and Salon-de-Provence, described as about 30 km from the site, corroborate the conditions (Appendix 4). Such lights, called skytrackers, are often used for displays or event advertising. At exactly the relevant time and direction, approximately 5.4 km away (Appendix 5), Aix-en-Provence was opening the Biennale des imaginaires numériques, featuring monumental, immersive and interactive works. One installation comprised 16 laser beams around the Fontaine de la Rotonde, directly along the sightline. Event photographs show beam spots on the low clouds matching the UAP’s shape, colour and number (Appendix 6). GEIPAN classifies the case A: skytracker observation.